Species that are considered uncertain risk need a more in-depth assessment beyond the Risk Summary to better define the species’ risk to U.S. environments.
Golden grey mullet (Chelon auratus) is a fish native throughout the Eastern Atlantic and into the Mediterranean Sea. It is used for human consumption with commercial fishing and aquaculture. C. auratus lives in marine, brackish and freshwater environments, but reproduces only in ocean environments. It has been introduced into the Caspian Sea where it has established populations but no negative impacts have been reported from this introduction, and there have been economic benefits from the fishery. It has also been introduced in the Jordan River and Lake Kinneret but is not established. The climate match with freshwater and brackish water in the contiguous United States is high overall. There are areas of high climate match throughout the west, around the Great Lakes, and in southeastern New England, as well as other scattered locations. More states recorded a high score than a low or medium score. Due to lack of information about negative impacts of introduction, and not being able to prepare a climate match for the marine portion of C. auratus’ life cycle, the overall risk for this species is uncertain.
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Uncertain Risk
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