Mullet (Mugil cephalus) back home
There are two types of mullet in New Zealand waters, one being the Grey Mullet and the other being the Yellow mullet.
The Mullet is only found in the Northern waters of New Zealand. Though I have been informed that they have been seen as far south as Wellington over the summer months.
The Mullet is normally in schools and found mainly in brackish waters over soft muddy or sandy areas in estuary’s and rivers, most of the ones I have encounterd have been it the Mahurangi Harbour in the North.
The Grey mullet is a large fish commonly reaching 600 mm or 2 foot in length and weighing only a few pounds.
As far as I can tell the only difference between the two would be the big yellow eye on the yellow mullet and a thick fleshey eyelid on the grey mullet.
The grey mullet has a flattend head with an olive green colour on the topside,and silvery sides. It has two dorsal fins, the first being tall and with four obvious spines, and short pectoral fins. They also have large scales.
Mullet feed on silt and plant material that they suck from the substrate. They are also known to feed by grazing the surfaces of aquatic plants.
Although mainly a marine species, I have seen grey mullet considerable distances upstream such as the Hamilton on the Waikato river, and up to Warkworth and Wellsford in the Rodney area.
I do not know anything about their breeding habits though I do know that both species of mullet must return to the open sea to spawn, anywhere between July to October .