Effects of culture conditions (stocking density, water depth and aquaculture gear) on the aquaculture performance of a new Crassostrea angulata variety “Golden oyster#1”

doi:10.1016/j.aquaculture.2022.739054

Aquaculture

Volume 564, 15 February 2023, 739054

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquaculture.2022.739054 Get rights and content

Highlights

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High stocking density reduced the survival of spats, but increased the growth.
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Shallow water (1.5–3 m) favour the growth and survival of oyster spats.
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Low stocking density and shallow water are best for oyster grow-out.
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Lantern net is the best gear for C. angulata grow-out.

Abstract

Bivalve molluscs are a high quality animal protein source for humans, and the demand for farmed bivalves is increasing. Among the bivalve molluscs, the Portuguese oyster Crassostrea angulata, is one of the most popular species and is intensively farmed in warm water. In order to further increase the aquaculture yield of C. angulata through cost-effective farming practices, this study was conducted to evaluate the effects of stocking density, water depth and aquaculture gear on the aquaculture performance of C. angulata in the nursery and grow-out phases. The results of this study revealed that both stocking density and water depth affected the survival rate and growth rate of C. angulata in the nursery and grow-out phases. In the nursery phase, high stocking density reduced the survival rate, but was beneficial to the growth of C. angulata spats, while 1.5 m and 3 m were optimum for the survival and growth of C. angulata spats. In the grow-out phase, the use of lantern net/ rope culture, low stocking density with narrow substrate spacing and shallow water (1.5 m) were beneficial to the survival, growth and yeild of C. angulata. The results of this study can be used as a guide to further improve C. angulata aquaculture practices, and fill the knowledge gap on the effects of stocking density, water depth and aquaculture gear on C. angulata aquaculture.

Introduction

Molluscs are an important source of high-quality dietary animal protein and lipid for humans (Tan et al., 2019, Tan et al., 2021a; Tan and Zheng, 2022), accounting for at least 15% of the per capita animal protein intake of an estimated 1.5 billion people worldwide, supporting the livelihoods of >200,000 people, mainly in developing countries (FAO, 2021). Total mollusc aquaculture production currently accounts for 21.3% (17.5 million tonnes) of total aquaculture production, with China accounting for >90% of total mollusc aquaculture production (FAO, 2021). Among molluscs, oysters, especially Crassostrea spp. are the most popular aquaculture species with an annual production of over 6 million tonnes (Botta et al., 2020).

The Portuguese oyster C. angulata is considered one of the most important aquaculture species in Asia. It is now recognized as one of the most produced species in China and sometimes referred as the “Fujian oyster” (Wang et al., 2010; Qin et al., 2012). In 2010, the Fisheries Research Institute of Fujian, China launched a selective breeding program of C. angulata for selecting fast growth and golden color traits through mass selection. After 6 generations of selection, a new Portuguese oyster variety “Golden Oyster#1” was successfully bred in 2015, which is now widely cultivated in the southern coast of China. The growth rate in terms of wet weight and shell height of “Golden Oyster#1” were 14% and 6% higher than that ordinary Portuguese oyster, respectively (Wu et al., 2018a).

The success of oyster aquaculture industry relies heavily on the effectiveness of two culture phases: nursery and grow-out phases (Goslin, 2015). The nursery culture phase is practiced to improve oyster survival and yield during the vulnerable period of the oyster life cycle, while the grow-out phase of aquaculture is the longest and potentially risky period of the oyster farming process. Although, C. angulata has been cultivated for many years, the culture technique of C. angulata still needs optimization (Tan et al., 2020, Tan et al., 2021b). Stocking density, water depth and aquaculture gear are known to be major factors affecting the survival, growth and yield of bivalves (e.g. Capelle et al., 2020; Freites et al., 2020; Rusydi et al., 2021; Zorita et al., 2021). Therefore, in order to refine cultivation techniques of C. angulata, this study took “Golden Oyster#1” as experimental subject to determine the effects of stoking density, water depth and aquaculture gear on the survival, growth and yield of C. angulata. The results of this study may have implications for improving C. angulata culture techniques and management.

Section snippets

Experimental animals and study area

One month age spats of a new Portuguese oyster variety “Golden Oyster#1” (hereinafter referred as C. angulata) (Fig. 1) attached to substrate (empty adult C. angulata shell) at a density of about 200 spats/substrate were collected from the Fisheries Research Institute of Fujian, China. Nursery culture and grow-out culture experiments were conducted in Nan'ao Marine Biology Experimental Station of Shantou University, China (117°19′ E, 23°32′ N). Nan'ao Island has a sub-tropical climate (Table 1)

Experiment 1: Effects of stocking density on the survival rate and growth rate of C. angulata in the nursery phase

The effects of stocking density on the survival rate and growth rate (in terms of shell height) of C. angulata in the nursery phase are illustrated in Fig. 3a and Fig. 3b, respectively. In general, C. angulata spats culture at high stocking density have significantly (P < 0.05) lower survival rate (20.00 ± 1.82% versus 54.97 ± 2.29% for high stocking density and control, respectively), but significantly (P < 0.05) higher growth rate (6.19 ± 0.45 mm versus 5.00 ± 0.26 mm for high stocking

Effects of stocking density and substrate spacing on the survival rate and growth rate of C. angulata

Survival rate and growth rate of bivalves are highly influenced by stocking density. In this study, the survival rate of C. angulata spats cultivated at high stocking density was significantly lower than that at control. This observation is not surprising and has been reported in other Crassostrea spp. (Roncarati et al., 2017; Rusydi et al., 2021). For example, in Alue Naga, Banda Aceh Indonesia, Rusydi et al. (2021) reported that the survival rate of Crassostrea sp. spats cultivated at a low

Conclusions

In conclusion, stocking density, water depth and aquaculture gear are important factors affecting the survival rate and growth rate of C. angulata in the nursery and grow-out phases. In nursery phase, based on independent results (the interaction of factors was not covered in this study), the recommended stocking density and water depth for C. angulata spats are 400 ind/substrate and 1.5 m depth, respectively, as the higher survival rate of oyster spats can provide more seeds for grow-out

Declaration of Competing Interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Acknowledgement

Present study was financially supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2018YFD0901400), Agriculture Research System of China of MOF and MARA (CARS-49), STU Scientific Research Foundation for Talents (NTF21018).

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Bivalve molluscs are increasingly being promoted as an alternative to land-based meat production due to their high levels of high-quality protein and lipids. The Crassostrea angulata, also known as the Portuguese oyster, has been a globally productive and renowned oyster species. In this study, we evaluated the aquaculture performance of C. angulata over two consecutive culture periods (pre-harvest phase, post-harvest phase) at different stocking densities and water depths, and compared the survival, growth and yield of diploid and triploid oysters. The experiment spanned 13 months, beginning in June 2022 and ending in June 2023. The results indicated that both stocking density and water depth significantly affected the aquaculture performance of C. angulata and exhibited distinct patterns in the two culture phases. Overall, compared to diploid C. angulata, triploid oysters showed significant culture advantages in the pre-harvest period, the growth rates and total yield of which were much higher than those of diploids. In the pre-harvest phase, the depth of 1 m and low-density culture (5 substrates/rope) favored the survival and growth of triploid oysters, while diploid C. angulata presented higher growth rates at high-density cultivation (15 substrates/rope), and the total oyster yield under 5 m culture reached a minimum for both diploids and triploids. In the post-harvest phase, the survival rate was stabilized, water depths of 1–3 m were optimal, and diploid oysters grew better at low (50 ind/cage) and medium (100 ind/cage) densities, whereas triploids had a higher growth rate of shell height at medium and high (150 ind/cage) densities. The findings of this research provide theoretical guidelines for exploring efficient C. angulata cultivation methods in the future, which will be beneficial to its commercial production.
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Citation Excerpt :
At the end of the present study, the rearing tanks held approx. two layers of spat, a stocking density which is rarely used in previous studies in which density dependent effects on growth and/or survival were reported, although they were determined using larger spat (Zorita et al., 2021; Tan et al., 2022). Calculations are necessary to determine which temperature combination, i.e. larval phase at 25 °C with a spat phase of 29 °C which resulted in significantly larger spat, or a larval phase at 29 °C with a spat phase at 25 °C which may lead to increased survival when stocking densities are low, is most cost effective for hatcheries.
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¹: Karsoon Tan and Yaotian Zhai contributed equally as first author

View full text

Effects of culture conditions (stocking density, water depth and aquaculture gear) on the aquaculture performance of a new Crassostrea angulata variety “Golden oyster#1”

Highlights

Abstract

Introduction

Section snippets

Experimental animals and study area

Experiment 1: Effects of stocking density on the survival rate and growth rate of C. angulata in the nursery phase

Effects of stocking density and substrate spacing on the survival rate and growth rate of C. angulata

Conclusions

Declaration of Competing Interest

Acknowledgement

Mar. Policy

Aquaculture

Aquaculture

Spain J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol.

J. Sea Res.

Aquaculture

Fish Shellfish Immunol.

Aquaculture

Aquaculture

Aquaculture

Aquaculture

Aquaculture

J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol.

Effects of water depth on survival and growth of Argopecten purpuratus (Lamarck, 1819) spat in northern Chile

Aquac. Int.

The effect of density on the cultivation of the native mangrove oyster Crassostrea tulipa (Lamarck, 1819)

Lat. Am. J. Aquat. Res.

Effects of stocking density and immersion time on the performance of oysters in intertidal off-bottom culture

Aquac. Int.

Effects of the environment and culture depth on growth and mortality in juvenile Pacific oysters in the strait of Georgia, British Columbia

Aquaculture Environ. Interaction

Comprehensive review of the cardioprotective effect of marine algae polysaccharide on the gut microbiota

Foods

Separating effects of limited food and space on growth of the giant scallop Placopecten magellanicus in suspended culture

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

FAO Yearbook Fishery and Aquaculture Statistic 2019

Relationship between environmental variables and growth of Pteria colymbus (Mollusca bivalvia: Pteriidae), at three cultivation depths

Boletin de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras

Marine Bivalve Molluscs

Spatial, temporal, and speciation variations of heavy metals in sediments of Nan’ao island, a representative mariculture base in Guangdong coast, China

J. Environ. Monit.

Commercial performance of blue mussel (Mytilus edulis, L.) stocks at a microgeographic scale

J. Marine Sci. Eng.

Effects of sea depths and sizes of winged pearl oysters (Pteriapenguin) on pearl culture

Songklanakarin J. Sci. Technol.