Remote setting of the yellow clam, Paphia malabarica, and the pearl oyster, Pinctada fucata, in India

Abstract

Paphia malabarica and Pinctada fucata are two commercially important bivalves of India, the former as an edible resource and the latter for the production of akoya and mabe pearls. The seed production techniques for these two bivalves have been developed at the Tuticorin Research Centre of CMFRI. Feasibility of remote setting for the larvae of P. fucata was tried at the Marine Hatchery of CMFRI at Calicut along the west coast. Utilising the shellfish hatchery at Tuticorin, growth and survival of remote set spat of Paphia malabarica and Pinctada fucata in the postset phase was monitored for 52 days in the hatchery. Remote set pearl oyster spat and clam spat had almost the same length one month after settlement. The pearl oyster spat reached 3.56 mm in one month after settlement and 8.28 mm in 80 days.