Assessment of four seeding strategies for sea scallops, Placopecten magellanicus, based on size

Description

Seeding of juvenile sea scallops has been carried out annually in the Magdalen Islands for more than a decade in order to compensate for the sharp decline in wild stocks in the late 1970s. In 2006, following several meetings between fishers and stakeholders from both the aquaculture sector and scallop fishery sector in the Magdalen Islands, it was agreed to review the previously recommended culture strategy. The approach ultimately decided upon is to continue seeding under an integrated fishery management plan in the Magdalen Islands. For the time being, the plan provides that the fishers will have to seed scallops directly from the collectors, without removing other organisms that are also present. Since this technique has never been tested in the Magdalen Islands, it is important to evaluate its potential and compare it with the usual seeding strategy, i.e. with scallops 20-40 mm in size. In addition, the decision to seed scallops without sorting the associated species may be risky because of the possible attraction of predators, among other reasons. It is therefore necessary to compare the results with seeding of scallops directly from collectors but without the presence of associated species. Finally, comparison of the three strategies described above provides an ideal opportunity to test another strategy based on the Japanese approach, which involves seeding scallops larger than 40 mm. Each strategy will be evaluated in terms of the level of scallop survival and the data will be compared with the associated selling costs. These results should help determine the most effective strategy in terms of survival and costs in the context of the Magdalen Islands.

Program Name

Aquaculture Collaborative Research and Development Program (ACRDP)

Year(s)

2006 - 2010

Ecoregion(s)

Atlantic: Gulf of St. Lawrence, St. Lawrence Estuary

Principal Investigator(s)

Hugo Bourdages
Email: Hugo.Bourdages@dfo-mpo.gc.ca