Striped Mullet, Mugil cephalus

Striped Mullet, Mugil cephalus. Fish provided by the commercial bait salesmen of the Puerto Los Cabos Marina, July 2014. Length: 28 cm (11 inches).

Striped Mullet, Mugil cephalus. Anal fin with 3 spines and 8 rays, a key to the correct identification of this species.  Fish provided by the commercial bait salesmen of the Puerto Los Cabos, Baja California Sur, July 2014. Length: 28 cm (11 inches). Identification courtesy of H.J. Walker, Jr., Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California.

Striped Mullet, Mugil cephalus. Fish caught from an urban canal in Melbourne, Florida, November 2020. Length: 40 cm (16 inches). Catch, photographs, and identifications courtesy of Ben Cantrell, San Diego, California.

Striped Mullet, Mugil cephalus. Fish caught from Edisto Beach, Botany Bay, South Carolina, June 2011. Length: 40 cm (16 inches). Catch, photograph, and identification courtesy of Josh Leisen (joshadventures.com), Gaylord, Michigan.

The Striped Mullet, Mugil cephalus, is a member of the Mullet or Mugilidae Family, that is also known as the Flathead Mullet and in Mexico as lisa rayada. Globally, there are fifteen species in the genus Mugil, of which seven are found in Mexican waters, three in the Atlantic, two in the Pacific, and two in both the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans.

The Striped Mullet has a very elongated body with a depth that is 22% to 24% of standard length. They are silvery gray overall, being dark gray dorsally and transitioning to silvery ventrally. There have several subtle longitudinal stripes along their sides. Their caudal, dorsal, and pectoral fins are black and their anal and pelvic fins are yellowish. Their head is rounded, slightly wider than deep, and 24% to 25% of standard length. They have a small terminal mouth with thin lips and a knob on the bottom of their lower lip. They have a blunt nose, prominent well-developed fatty eyelids with a small slit over their pupil, and front and rear nostrils that are widely separated. Their anal fin has 3 spines and 8 or 9 rays and is anterior of the second dorsal fin; their caudal fin is weakly forked; their first dorsal fin has 4 spines; their second dorsal fin has 1 spine and 8 rays; their pectoral fins are short and do not reach the origin of the first dorsal fin; and, their pelvic fins are behind the pectoral fins. Their body is covered with large scales. They do not have a lateral line.

The Striped Mullet is found near the surface over sandy bottoms in shallow coastal waters and estuaries at depths of up to 122 m (400 feet); they also venture into adjacent fresh water. They reach a maximum of 1.35 m (4 feet 5 inches) in length with males and females being of equal size. As of January 1, 2023, the International Game Fish Association world record stood at 4.71 kg (10 lbs 6 oz) with the fish caught in coastal waters off Texas in March 2009. They travel in enormous schools and feed primarily on algae, zooplankton, and dead plant matter making them an important ecological waste processing machine. They are preyed upon by fish, birds, and various other marine mammals. They are known for leaping out of the water frequently, which is believed to provide them with an oxygen source. Reproduction is oviparous with females laying between 500,000 and 2,000,000 eggs annually that are fertilized externally by males. The eggs are pelagic and non-adhesive. They have a lifespan of up to sixteen years. The Striped Mullet  is poorly studied with very limited information available about their lifestyle and behavioral patterns including specific details on age, growth, longevity, movement patterns, diet, habitat use, and reproduction.

The Striped Mullet is found in all Mexican waters of both the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean.

The Striped Mullet is virtually identical to, and easily confused with the White Mullet, Mugil curema (lighter coloration; 9 anal rays). It is also similar to the Liseta Mullet, Mugil setosus (blunt head profile; deeply concave anal and second dorsal fins; longer rounded pectoral fins).

From a conservation perspective the Striped Mullet is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They are an important commercial species that are caught with cast nets, lift nets, stake nets, trammel nets, beach seines, hook and line and fish corrals. The are marketed year round in all Mexican Food Markets fresh, frozen and salted for human consumption. The roe is sold fresh or smoked. Juveniles are utilized as a live bait fish. They are also processed into fish oil. In the states of Tabasco and Vera Cruz they are raised via aquaculture for human food. Mexico is one of the top ten global countries for mullet with annual production at the level of 12,000 tons per year.

The Striped Mullet is a filter feeder and as such cannot be caught with hook and line via traditional methods. They show up in June and July along the southern coasts of Baja by the millions attracting the famous Roosterfish. They are caught either via cast nets or snagging with heavily weighted treble hooks with surf casting gear. They are one of the important commercial live baits of the greater Los Cabos area during the summer months and are fly-lined live targeting one of the world’s true exotics, the Roosterfish, as well as Dorados, Groupers and Snappers. They can also be used as effective cut bait or for chum.