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Abstract: Environmental parameters, such as light intensity and turbidity, have been shown to significantly influence the growth and survival of cultured larval finfish. Here, we study three light intensities (low: 360lx; medium: 1675lx; and high: 14,850lx) and two turbidity conditions (with and without green water) to determine optimum growth and survival for California yellowtail (Seriola lalandi) larvae. The study lasted from 2 thru 16days post hatch (dph). The high light intensity, green water treatment produced the largest larvae (865±165μg dry weight; 7.01±0.07mm notochord length), had the highest survival rate (9.2±3.1%), and had the highest incidence of swimbladder inflation (68.8±3.1%) among all treatments in this study. The low and medium light intensity, clear water treatments produced the smallest larvae (183±60μg dry weight; 5.58±0.07mm notochord length) and the lowest survival rate (0–0.10%). These results indicate that light intensity and turbidity are significant factors that affect growth and survival of Seriola lalandi larvae up to 16dph. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The lack of knowledge in what optimizes egg and larval quality is an important limiting factor in developing culture techniques for any species. Inconsistent or poor egg quality significantly affects the production of larval and juvenile fish. Egg quality is a known predictor of subsequent larval viability, quality, and stress resistance. Without high quality eggs, it is not possible to optimize husbandry practices. Here we tracked egg quality in a population of California yellowtail (Seriola dorsalis), CYT. We used spawn events from three consecutive years and monitored basic egg quality metrics such as: spawn viability, egg diameter, oil diameter, hatch rates, larval size at hatch, and larval survival to first feeding. Along with these metrics we also ran proximate composition and fatty acid analysis of these spawn events on the viable portion of the eggs collected. During this study we demonstrated that egg diameters for S. dorsalis decreased as the spawning season progressed and water temperature increased. We showed that larger eggs lead to higher quality hatched larvae, and that using eggs earlier in the season would lead to better overall larval and juvenile production. Our fatty acid analyses suggest that both arachidonic acid (ARA) and linoleic acid (LA) were limiting fatty acids in eggs produced, and there is potential to improve the quality of cultured CYT eggs with the addition of these fatty acids to the broodstock diet. • This study showed that egg diameters of S. dorsalis decrease as water temperatures increase. • Larger eggs lead to higher quality hatched larvae for S. dorsalis. • Arachidonic acid and linoleic acid were limiting fatty acids for S. dorsalis and should optimized for high egg quality. • This research adds important information on egg quality to help optimize culture of this important aquaculture species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]