Abstract:

In this study, growth and meat quality characteristics of Oplegnathus punctatus cultured in different aquaculture
systems were evaluated by mass/length index (K), chromatic aberration, texture properties and sensory evaluation. The
causes of eating quality difference of meat from Oplegnathus punctatus cultured under different aquaculture modes were
analyzed. The results showed that K value of Oplegnathus punctatus cultured in net cages was 19.29 g/cm, slightly higher than of
pond-cultured Oplegnathus punctatus, suggesting higher mobility in net cages and highly significant effect of mobility on K value.
The meat of pond-cultured Oplegnathus punctatus had a brighter and more saturated color, while harness, springiness, cohesiveness
and resilience of fillets of cage-cultured Oplegnathus punctatus were higher than those of the pond-cultured counterpart. Fillets of
pond-cultured Oplegnathus punctatus exhibited better chewiness (2.457 mJ). In conclusion, our findings suggest that aquaculture
mode can only influence hardness and resilience of Oplegnathus punctatus fillets.

Key words: Oplegnathus punctatus, aquaculture mode, texture properties, mass/length index, chromatic aberration, sensory evaluation