Spat of pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas) grown in subtropical environments

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to compare the growth and survival of Crassostrea gigas spat at four sites (Sambaqui (SBQ), Paraíso das Ostras (PAR), Atlâtico Sul (ATL), and Cia das Ostras (CDO)) in Brazil. Batches of spat were reared in the summer and winter of 2018 and the summer of 2019 for two month periods. SBQ site had higher total particulate matter and particulate inorganic matter values than those observed at the other sites. The salinity at the PAR site was higher than that found at the other sites, but the temperature was lower. No differences in survival were observed among the sites in the summer or winter of 2018; however, in the summer of 2019, there were significant differences. Shell height was higher during warmer seasons than during winter. In conclusion, the SBQ and ATL sites were found to have better conditions for spat cultivation than the PAR and CDO sites.

KEYWORDS:

• aquaculture
• water quality
• oyster spat
• growth
• survival

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful for the financial support received from the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) through the Ciência do Mar 2 project, grant no. 1969/2014. They also thank the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) for the Research Productivity scholarship awarded to Dr. Claudio Manoel Rodrigues de Melo. We thank the Gabriel Graff for technical support during the experiment and the Dr. Luis Hamilton P. Garbossa for creating the map (Figure 1). We also thank CEDAP-EPAGRI for providing temperature data.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico [307456/2019-6]; Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior [1969/2014].