Lebranche mullet (Mugil liza) is a saltwater, freshwater, brackish species recorded in the United States. It is found at depths of ≥ 10 m.
Scientific name: Mugil liza · Water: Saltwater, Freshwater, Brackish
Size: up to 80 cm
The lebranche mullet is a demersal mugilid that inhabits coastal marine waters and brackish estuaries, and is also found in hyper-saline lagoons; it may enter fresh water but is never far from the sea. It forms sizeable schools and appears to undergo trophic migrations along the coasts, feeding on organic detritus and filamentous algae. It is oviparous with pelagic, non-adhesive eggs, spawning several million eggs at sea. Its recorded depth starts at about 10 m, with no maximum depth recorded. Its range is the western Atlantic, from Bermuda, Florida and the Bahamas through the Caribbean Sea to Argentina. Maximum length is about 80 cm total length, commonly about 40 cm, and it matures at about 35 cm. It is a commercial species, farmed commercially and a gamefish, also caught with beach nets, marketed fresh and salted, and its roe is marketed salt-pickled and dried and is considered a delicacy. Fishing vulnerability is moderate at 37 of 100 and resilience medium, the price category is high, and climate vulnerability is high at 57 of 100. IUCN lists it as data deficient.
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