Protracted volitional spawning of pinfish Lagodon rhomboides and changes in egg quality and fatty-acid composition throughout the spawning season.

Spawning performance of pinfish Lagodon rhomboides without use of hormonal aids was monitored over an extended season. Nearly three million eggs were obtained from 75 spawns collected over a 90-day consecutive period from a single population of four brood fish (1M:1F). A mean +/- s.d. batch fecundity of 3027 +/- 2264 eggs g(-1) female was estimated with 980 +/- 006% of the batch composed of floating eggs which were 104 +/- 004 mm in diameter and 8571 +/- 2759% fertile. Floating eggs successfully hatched 5465 +/- 2913% of the time which yielded larvae that were 259 +/- 024 mm in length. Fatty acids within floating eggs were largely represented by polyunsaturated fatty acids (4530 +/- 214% of total fatty acids) of which linoleic acid [(c18:2n-6cis) 349 +/- 169% trifluoroacetic acid (TFA)] and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) [(c22:6n-3) 2847 +/- 148% TFA] represented the majority of fatty acids for n-6 and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, respectively. The strongest correlations between fatty acids and hatching success and larval survival to first feeding were observed for the DHA:EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid; c20:5n-3) ratio and total n-6 polyunsaturated fatty-acids levels, respectively. These data demonstrate potential for producers to rely on natural spawns for extensive egg production and provide a baseline for future development of natural spawning protocols of captive L. rhomboides.