NASSAU, Bahamas (July 12, 2017) – The most fascinating thing happened at the full moon in July 2017. First, the grouper changed into their spawning colors (they transform from vertical strips to having a dark brown top half and a pure white bottom half prior to and during spawning events).
Then, there was another all-natural spawning event at Tropic Seafood. This is the first ever mid-summer, all-natural spawning event in captivity on record. They began two nights before the full moon and released sperm and eggs each night for a period of 5 consecutive nights. Because this event was unexpected, the eggs were not able to be held, but were collected and released to the sea to hatch in the natural environment.
Although grouper culture technology has been practiced for the past 25-30 years in Asia, Tropic Seafood is only now bringing it to the West, specifically the Bahamas.
In February 2015, a few fish were induced to spawn and produced enough larvae to allow an attempt to culture them. As a result, about 100 fish (F1 generation) survived and should be producing offspring themselves this upcoming Winter.
Tropic Seafood works closely with Dr. Daniel Benetti and his staff at the Rosenstiel School for Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Miami.
For additional information, please contact Jon Chaiton, Director of Aquaculture at Tropic Seafood, in Nassau, Bahamas.
