Pagellus erythrinus (Common Pandora): A Promising Candidate Species for Enlarging the Diversity of Aquaculture Production

The euryhaline species Pagellus erythrinus was investigated for potential use in aquaculture. The research focused on the biological aspects of the species examining its adaptability in captivity, examining reproduction, brood stock construction, larval rearing and on-growing of the fingerlings, produced in cage culture under different diets and feeding regimes. Natural spawning resulted in the production of 150,000 viable eggs/kg with an average hatching rate of 85%, whereas spawning induced with injection of HCG hormone (500 and 250 IU/kg) produced 16,140 and 29,940 viable eggs/kg for the high and low dosage, respectively, with an average hatching rate of 75%. The culture of the fingerlings in floating cages in the region of Galaxidi (east central Greece) is also described. The results are encouraging in terms of a possible intensive culture of the species, but nonetheless further research on the reproduction and the larval rearing of the species is imperative.