Flathead grey mullet

The striped mullet (Mugil cephalus) is an important food fish species in the mullet family Mugilidae. It is found in coastal temperate, tropical and subtropical waters worldwide. Its length is typically 30 to 75 centimetres (12 to 30 in). It is known with numerous English names, including the flathead mullet, flathead grey mullet, striped mullet, black mullet, bully mullet, common mullet, grey mullet, sea mullet and mullet, among others.

The striped mullet is a mainly diurnal coastal species that often enters estuaries and rivers. It usually schools over sand or mud bottoms, feeding on zooplankton, dead plant matter, microalgae and detritus. The adult fish normally feed on algae in fresh water. The species is euryhaline, meaning that the fish can acclimate to different levels of salinity.

Distribution

The striped mullet is cosmopolitan in coastal waters of the tropical, subtropical and temperate zones of all seas, as far north as the Bay of Biscay and Nova Scotia in the Atlantic Ocean.

It occupies fresh, brackish and marine habitats in depths ranging between 0–120 metres (0–394 ft) and with temperatures between 8–24 °C (46–75 °F).

In Australia, the fish is widespread, from Far North Queensland, around southern Australia to the Kimberley region of Western Australia. They also occur in the Bass Strait area of Tasmania. They live in tropical and temperate coastal marine and estuarine waters, but are also often found in the lower reaches of rivers. They are able to live in a wide range of salinity and so may also be found in lagoons, lakes and far into estuaries, but migrate back to the sea to spawn.

In freshwaters of the western United States, the striped mullet historically ranged far up the Colorado River to the vicinity of Blythe and up the Gila River to perhaps Tacna. Because of the dams and restricted flows to the Gulf of California, the range in Arizona is restricted to the Colorado River below Laguna Dam and the lower end of the Gila River when there is water present. They are often abundant in the mainstream and lateral canals in the Gila River region.

In the Colorado River mullet are pelagic in larger pools, sometimes moving into currents below dams, and generally occurring in small groups. Striped mullet populations are currently declining in Arizona, due to periods when the Colorado River does not reach the Gulf of California.