Skip Navigation


ICES Journal of Marine Science: Journal du Conseil Advance Access originally published online on November 21, 2007
ICES Journal of Marine Science: Journal du Conseil 2008 65(1):60-64; doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsm167
This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
65/1/60    most recent
fsm167v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Joaquim, S.
Right arrow Articles by Arnold, W. S.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by Joaquim, S.
Right arrow Articles by Arnold, W. S.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© 2007 International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. Published by Oxford Journals. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Rebuilding viable spawner patches of the overfished Spisula solida (Mollusca: Bivalvia): a preliminary contribution to fishery sustainability

Sandra Joaquim1,, Miguel B. Gaspar1, Domitília Matias1, Radhouan Ben-Hamadou2 and William S. Arnold3

1 Instituto Nacional de Recursos Biológicos, I.P./L-IPIMAR, Av. 5 de Outubro s/n, Olhão 8700-305, Portugal
2 Universidade do Algarve, Centro de Ciencias do Mar do Algarve CCMAR, Campus de Gambelas, Faro 8005-139, Portugal
3 Florida FWCC Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, 100 Eighth Avenue SE, St Petersburg, FL 33701-5020, USA

Correspondence to S. Joaquim: tel: +351 281 326 951; fax: +351 281 324 028; e-mail: sandra{at}ipimar.pt

Joaquim, S., Gaspar, M. B., Matias, D., Ben-Hamadou, R., and Arnold, W. S. 2008. Rebuilding viable spawner patches of the overfished Spisula solida (Mollusca: Bivalvia): a preliminary contribution to fishery sustainability. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 65: 60–64.

Populations of commercially important bivalves along the coast of Portugal are depleted as a consequence of natural and anthropogenic causes. A pilot experiment was designed to determine the feasibility of transplanting individuals from natural clam beds to a closed fishing area in an effort to rebuild relatively high-density patches of Spisula solida. For this purpose, clams were equally partitioned into two groups (undersize and legal clams) and transplanted at a density of 40 clams m–2 into two areas 50 m2. Transplanted and control clams were sampled to estimate survival, condition index, biochemical composition, and reproductive condition. Generally, the physiological condition of clams was not affected by the method of transplanting. One year after transplanting, survival was 45%. The increase in local abundance of mature clams should facilitate successful fertilization and increase the residual reproductive value of each clam relative to its pre-transplant value. Transplanting undersize clams may be more advantageous because they are more likely to spawn at least once before harvest. The experiments demonstrate that spawner transplants may strengthen S. solida populations and can be used in stock-enhancement programmes which, in conjunction with effective management measures, can contribute to the sustainability of the S. solida fishery.

Keywords: clams, population enhancement, restoration, Spisula solida, transplantation

Received 14 November 2006; accepted 19 October 2007; advance access publication 21 November 2007.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.