THE STATUS OF GREATER AMBERJACK Seriola dumerili AS AN EXPERIMENTAL SPECIES FOR MARINE U.S. AQUACULTURE

Greater amberjack, Seriola dumerili, is a pelagic and epibenthic species with a global distribution in subtropical areas of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, the Gulf of Mexico, and Mediterranean Sea at depths of 18 to 360 m. Greater amberjack is a prized recreational and commercial species and is the largest jack in the Carangidae family with maximum length of 190 cm and 80.6 kg.   Wild greater amberjack have been captured from North Carolina to the Florida Keys and in the Gulf of Mexico in spawning condition from January through June, with peak spawning occurring in April and May.

Greater amberjack are considered a good candidate for aquaculture due to their fast growth rate (5X greater growth rate than European seabass, Dicentrarchus labrax), market demand and excellent flesh quality. Aquaculture production of this species began in the 1980s; however, there is limited commercial production of greater amberjack today, in Spain, Malta, Greece, Turkey and Japan. Greater amberjack was identified as a priority fish for species diversification of aquaculture in the European Union (EU). Bottlenecks to commercial production were examined for the Gulf of Mexico stocks in a 2-year funded project conducted at University of Maryland and Mote Marine Laboratory (2013-2015), in the EU funded EMBRIC program, and in the recently completed 5-year EU funded project DIVERSIFY (2013-2018).   Research in Maryland and Florida focused on broodstock acquisition, parasite management and control, evaluating the reproductive cycle of greater amberjack in captivity, and examining the effect of different environmental regimes on inducing maturation and spawning. Research in the DIVERSIFY project focused on reproduction, larval rearing methods, juvenile production, commercial on-growing trials in sea cages, health management and immune system characterization.  Research in the EMBRIC program focused on developing molecular tools to help farmers monitor the genetics of their broodstock and determine potential improvements that could be achieved through selective breeding.

Currently, there is no active research or commercial production of greater amberjack in the US; however, in the EU, there are a number of laboratories continuing to work closely with the commercial farms to resolve aquaculture industry bottlenecks. To develop the aquaculture technology needed for commercial production in the USA, there is a need for long-term funded research directed in the following areas:  domesticated broodstock development, selective breeding, reliable captive reproduction, production of adequate numbers of juveniles, and health management strategies to control parasites in land-based and offshore production systems.