Juvenile Geoduck Out-planting: Optimizing Methods for Maximizing Aquaculture Production and Minimizing Environmental Impacts

Description

The proposed research has three main objectives that will be addressed with a combination of both laboratory- and field-based experiments:

1. Assess the effect of mesh size of predator protection netting and seed size on juvenile geoduck growth and survivorship. This will be examined using already proven grow-out technology (i.e. canopies: plastic mesh tunnels where the juvenile geoducks are seeded in a single, straight line).
2. Assess predation rate of various species and sizes of predators on juvenile geoduck of various sizes.
3. Assess the potential effect of various grow-out methods (both established and emerging technologies) on juvenile geoduck growth/survivorship and their potential impacts on the benthic environment.

Program Name

Aquaculture Collaborative Research and Development Program (ACRDP)

Year(s)

2004 - 2006

Ecoregion(s)

Pacific: Vancouver Island West Coast

Principal Investigator(s)

Chris Pearce
Email: PearceC@pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca