RESULTS OF THREE-YEAR REARING OF SO-IUY MULLET <i>LISA HAEMATOCHEILUS </i>(TEMMINCK & SCHLEGEL, 1845) = <i>MUGIL SOIUY </i>(BASILEWSKY, 1855), OBTAINED BY ARTIFICIAL REPRODUCTION AND FED ON NATURAL FEEDS, IN THE MODEL RESERVOIR
The data on which this article is based have been collected during the investigation of so-iuy mullet (a valuable fishing target showing promise for pond and grazing aquaculture) reared from eggs to three-yearlings. This study was conducted in the research facility “Zavetnoe” on the coast of the Kerch Strait in 2018-2020. The data on growth and survival rates of so-iuy mullet during a three-year rearing cycle in the model reservoir have been presented. It is shown that the main hydrochemical and hydrobiological parameters of the water during so-iuy mullet rearing were favorable. The thermal proﬁle of the aquatic environment ranged from 3.5 to 26.0 °С, NaCl salinity varied from 18.0 to 21.0 ‰, and the oxygen content ranged within 5.33-10.23 mg/L. In the course of this study, the feed reserve of the model pond was at the level of a mesotrophic water body; the average biomass of the zooplankton was 2.12 g/m<sup>3</sup>, while the average biomass of the fodder zoobenthos equaled 8.37 g/m<sup>2</sup>. The data on the number of taxonomic groups of the organisms in the so-iuy mullet digestive tract, recorded for different age classes, are presented. It has been found out that, starting from the fingerlings with 1 g weight and for the entire three-year period of this investigation, the average daily weight gain of the so-iuy mullet was 0.47 g/day, with the average daily length gain 0.05 cm/day. The absolute weight and length gains of the so-iuy mullet three-yearlings in the model reservoir were 364.17 g and 35.37 cm, respectively. Survival rate of the so-iuy mullet out of the initial number of yearlings reached 8 %; for two-yearlings it made up 1.1 %, and 0.54 % for three-yearlings. This study will make it possible to assess the actual stocking efficiency and yield potential of the so-iuy mullet juveniles (1-2 g initial weight) from culture, released into the natural habitat.