ABSTRACT
The family Mugilidae includes various species of great ecological and economic importance for both capture fi sheries and aquaculture in many regions of the world.
The schooling behaviour of many mullet species, their capacity to adapt to low salinities and hence to enter freshwaters, and their presence on the water surface, often in confi ned shallow waters, have made these fi sh an ideal target for primitive coastal populations (Cataudella and Monaco 1983). Traditional capture fi sheries and culture practices were implemented by people living in coastal areas, near bays, estuaries and coastal lagoons, and who were familiar with mullet behaviour and life history. In brackish waters, mullets were abundant and represented a relatively easy prey, to be caught in rudimentary traps or more simply, to be scared and pushed to leap out of the water.
