Coastal Aquaculture and Mariculture (2+1)

Unit 7 - Culture of Molluscs and Seaweeds

7.1. Oyster Culture

Marine aquaculture may well has begun with oyster culture. It has been cultivated for centuries.

Two groups of oyster are cultured

1. Flat oysters – Osrea spp
2. Cupped oysters – Crossostrea spp

Oysters are distributed throughout the world. They are filter feeders feeding mainly on plankton and suspended detritus. In tropics they spawn throughout the year while in tropics they breed with rising temperatures. The larvae pass through trochophore and veliger and metamorphose to spat and settle on solid surfaces.