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EveryFish

Spawning

The release of eggs and sperm, usually into the water, for fish to breed.

A diagram drawn by EveryFish.

Also: spawn

Most fish spawn by releasing eggs and sperm (milt) into the water, where fertilisation happens outside the body. Many species gather in great numbers at set places and times: groupers form spawning aggregations on reefs at the full moon, and Indian major carps spawn in flooded rivers at the height of the monsoon. Some scatter eggs and leave them; others lay them on plants, rocks or nests and guard them. Because spawning gatherings are easy to find, fishing them can wipe out a population quickly, and many fishing bans are timed to them.

See also

Roe Milt Redd Closed season

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