FAO FISHERIES TECHNICAL PAPER 471

FAO FISHERIES TECHNICAL PAPER 471

Hatchery culture of bivalves
A practical manual

Prepared by
Michael M. Helm
FAO Consultant
Nova Scotia, Canada

and

Neil Bourne
FAO Consultant
British Columbia, Canada

Compiled and edited by
Alessandro Lovatelli
Inland Water Resources and Aquaculture Department
FAO Fisheries Department
Rome, Italy


FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS

Rome, 2004

 

Contents


Cover photographs:

Clockwise from top left: Fibrebreglass cylinders used for of a small bivalve hatchery; photomicrograph raft nursery Crassostrea D-larvae (courtesy Michael M.gigas Manila clam (courtesy Brian Edwards).

The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

ISBN 92-5-105224-7
ISSN 0429-9345

All rights reserved. Reproduction and dissemination of material in this information product for educational or other non-commercial purposes are authorized without any prior written permission from the copyright holders provided the source is fully acknowledged. Reproduction of material in this information product for resale or other commercial purposes is prohibited without written permission of the copyright holders.
Applications for such permission should be addressed to:
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Publishing Management Service
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FAO
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or by e-mail to:
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© FAO 2004


Contents

Preparation of this document
Abstract
Glossary
Abbreviations, acronyms and conversions

Introduction

Part 1 - Site selection, hatchery design and economic considerations

1.1 SITE SELECTION

1.1.1 Introduction
1.1.2 Considerations

1.1.2.1 Government regulations
1.1.2.2 Seawater quality
1.1.2.3 Siting the hatchery

1.2 HATCHERY DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

1.2.1 Introduction
1.2.2 Seawater system
1.2.3 The physical plant

1.2.3.1 Algal culture facility
1.2.3.2 Broodstock holding and spawning area
1.2.3.3 Larval culture area
1.2.3.4 Juvenile culture area
1.2.3.5 Other space requirements

1.3 ECONOMIC CONSIDERATIONS

1.4 SUGGESTED READING

Part 2 - Basic bivalve biology: taxonomy, anatomy and life history

2.1 TAXONOMY AND ANATOMY

2.1.1 Introduction
2.1.2 External anatomy
2.1.3 Internal anatomy

2.2 LIFE HISTORY

2.2.1 Gonadal development and spawning
2.2.2 Embryonic and larval development
2.2.3 Metamorphosis
2.2.4 Feeding
2.2.5 Growth
2.2.6 Mortalities

2.3 SUGGESTED READING

Part 3 - Hatchery operation: culture of algae

3.1 INTRODUCTION

3.2 MAINTENANCE OF STOCK AND STARTER CULTURES

3.2.1 Procedures for the management of stock cultures
3.2.2 Starter culture manageme

3.3 INTERMEDIATE-SCALE CULTURE

3.3.1 Growth phases of cultures
3.3.2 Details of intermediate-scale culture operation
3.3.3 Estimating algal density

3.4 LARGE-SCALE CULTURE

3.4.1 Bag and cylinder cultures
3.4.2 Internally illuminated cultures
3.4.3 Principles of large-scale culture management
3.4.4 Automated large-scale culture
3.4.5 Troubleshooting
3.4.6 Extensive outdoor culture

3.5 SUGGESTED READING

Part 4 - Hatchery operation: broodstock conditioning, spawning and fertilization

4.1 BROODSTOCK CONDITIONING

4.1.1 Introduction
4.1.2 Conditioning methods

4.1.2.1 Tank systems and water treatment
4.1.2.2 Feeding broodstock
4.1.2.3 Calculating food ration for conditioning
4.1.2.4 Adjusting ration for flow-through systems
4.1.2.5 Two-stage early season conditioning

4.1.3 Conditioning bivalves in the tropics

4.2 SPAWNING AND FERTILIZATION

4.2.1 Introduction
4.2.2 Gamete stripping
4.2.3 The special case of flat oysters
4.2.4 Induced spawning of oviparous bivalves

4.2.4.1 Thermal cycling procedure
4.2.4.2 Spawning dioecious bivalves
4.2.4.3 Spawning monoecious bivalves

4.2.5 Fertilization procedures

4.3 SUGGESTED READING

Part 5 - Hatchery operation: culture of larvae basic methodology, feeding and nutrition, factors influencing growth and survival, and settlement and metamorphosis

5.1 BASIC METHODOLOGY

5.1.1 Introduction
5.1.2 Methods for embryo development

5.1.2.1 Tanks for embryos and larvae
5.1.2.2 Water treatment
5.1.2.3 Culture of embryos

5.1.3 Methods for rearing larvae

5.1.3.1 Starting a new culture
5.1.3.2 Husbandry of larval cultures

5.1.4 Growing larvae more efficiently

5.1.4.1 High density culture
5.1.4.2 Flow-through culture

5.1.5 Growth and survival of larvae

5.2 FEEDING AND NUTRITION

5.2.1 Introduction
5.2.2 Dietary considerations
5.2.3 Diet composition and ration

5.2.3.1 Feeding strategies
5.2.3.2 Calculating food rations

5.3 FACTORS INFLUENCING GROWTH AND SURVIVAL

5.3.1 Introduction
5.3.2 Effects of temperature and salinity
5.3.3 Seawater quality
5.3.4 Egg and larval quality
5.3.5 Disease

5.4 SETTLEMENT AND METAMORPHOSIS

5.4.1 Introduction
5.4.2 Maturation of larvae
5.4.3 Setting larvae

5.4.3.1 Settlement stimuli
5.4.3.2 Suitable settlement substrates

5.5 SUGGESTED READING

Part 6 - Hatchery operation: culture of spat in remote setting site, in the hatchery and in nurseries

6.1 INTRODUCTION

6.2 REMOTE SETTING

6.2.1 Background
6.2.2 Preparing larvae for shipment
6.2.3 Preparations at the remote site
6.2.4 Receiving the eyed larvae
6.2.5 Setting the larvae and growing the spat

6.3 METHODS FOR GROWING SMALL SPAT

6.3.1 Introduction
6.3.2 Growing systems for spat set on cultch
6.3.3 Growing systems for unattached spat
6.3.4 Operation of closed upwelling systems
6.3.5 Operation of closed downwelling systems
6.3.6 Grading and estimating spat
6.3.7 Operating systems on flow-through

6.4 DIETS AND FOOD RATIONS FOR SMALL SPAT

6.4.1 Species composition of diets
6.4.2 Calculating food ration

6.5 GROWTH AND SURVIVAL

6.5.1 Variability in spat growth between species
6.5.2 Effect of ration on growth
6.5.3 Combined effects of ration and temperature
6.5.4 Survival
6.5.5 Hatchery production

6.6 NURSERY CULTURE

6.6.1 Land-based nurseries
6.6.2 Barge-type nurseries

6.7 SUGGESTED READING

Part 7 - The future of hatcheries: developing technologies

7.1 GENETICS

7.1.1 Polyploidy
7.1.2 Quantitative and molecular genetics

7.2 THE FUTURE

7.3 SUGGESTED READING

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