A series of experiments on induced spawning and larval rearing of new species such as Cephalopholis minimata, Trachinotus blochii, Lutjanus erypthropterus and Epinephelus fuscogutatus was conducted through the year.  These species were selected by MAFPREC due to their marketable value and palatable taste that make them readily accepted by many people. Their firmer flesh and appearance command a good price in the market.  Despite the demands, biological knowledge particularly of their  reproduction and early life stages is still insufficient.
All these species have shown great potential to be commercialised with fertilization and hatching rates of more than 80%. Fertilization and hatching rates depend on egg quality, but little is known about the determinants of egg quality although many factors have been implicated as possible causative agents. To overcome this problem MAFPREC used Vitamin E and other trace elements combined in trash fish.  It is thought that Vitamin E, acting as a quencher or scavenger of single  oxygen and free radicals, absorbs the energy of these compounds within their extensive double bond structure. This influenced embryonic development which involved both structural and behavioural functions.

Development of the above species was sucessfully done by using induced spawning with HCG (doses depended on species) for inducing final maturation and ovulation leading to spawning.  Futher studies are needed to determine the minimum dose, critical oocyte diameter, response latency and fecundity to refine the breeding techniques in MAFPREC. This is in line with future plans of MAFPREC that is to establish mass fry production technology for commercially cultured marine finfishes and to promote sustainable marine hatchery and nursery operations to support further marine cage culture development.