Molluscan Mariculture in theGreater Caribbean: An Overview

DARRYL E. JORY and EDWIN S. IVERSEN

Introduction

This paper reviews the history andcurrent status of both experimental andcommercial molluscan mariculture inthe greater Caribbean area (Fig. 1). Sea­food is and has been a staple for Carib­bean people since pre-Columbian times.

ABSIRACF-Marine mollusks suitable formariculture in the Caribbean area havereceived increased attention in recent yearsin an effort to produce more seafood for in­habitants of the area. However, molluscanmariculture in the Caribbean is still, witha few exceptions, in its infancy when com­pared with these activities elsewhere. Pilotand commercial culture operations forAmerican oysters, Crassostrea virginica, andmangrove oysters, C. rhyzophorae, exist inJamaica, Cuba, J.i'?nezuela, and Mexico, and

In many areas, however, seafood de­mand exceeds both the current catch andpotentially available resources. A recentreview of eastern Caribbean fisheries byOlsen et al. (1984) incorporated landarea, human population, shelf area,number of tourists, and fish landings byisland/nation. These figures, together

for rock mussels, Perna perna, in f.-enezuela.Extensive research has been carried out onthe mariculture potential ofthe queen conch,Strombus gigas, with experimental hatch­eries in some countries (more are under con­struction or planned), and a commercialhatchery is already operating in Turks andCaicos. The culture potential of severalmollusks in the Caribbean, including nativeand exotic species, and several problems im­peding increase in molluscan culture in theCaribbean are discussed.

with total seafood consumption rates(local residents and tourists), permitteda comparison between island-shelfpotential yield and demand for marineprotein in the Caribbean which revealedthat:

1) Only a few of the eastern island na­tions are currently supplying their ownseafood demand,

2) The current demand for seafood inthe area is about 775,000 metric tons (t),which greatly exceeds both currentlandings of about 87,000 t and the200,000 t potential yield, and

3) The shelf area of many islands is

Darryl E. lory and E. S. Iversen are with the Divi­sion of Biology and Living Resources, RosenstielSchool of Marine and Atmospheric Science,University of Miami, 4600 Rickenbacker Cause­way, Miami, FL 33149.

VENEZUELA

+---------,I-----22·N

ATLANTIC OCEAN

PrOVJ(Jenctales I

85'W95'W

I

PACIFIC OCEAN

12·N----f------+--------'I.

Figure I.-Map of greater Caribbean region.

47(4), 1985 1

Figure 2.-Mangrove oyster culture system in coastal region.

generally too small to support additionalfishing effort, and although there aresome areas that can support additionalexploitation, increased seafood produc­tion must come from resources notalready exploited.

Although almost all island nationspresently have this serious seafood pro­duction deficit, some nations are inmore trouble than others. For example,the Dominican Republic, which current­ly lands about 6,435 t of finfish andshellfish, has a seafood demand of137,000 t and a potential yield from itsshelf of only 864 t.

Mollusk culture could increase sea­food production in many Caribbeanisland nations and reduce the differencebetween present production and de­mand. Another reason for culturingmollusks in the Caribbean is that as ex­port products (for food or the aquariumor ornamental shell trade) they generatehard currency to help alleviate serioustrade deficits that characterize many

2

Caribbean nations, as well as provideneeded employment. Finally, culturedmollusks, in particular cephalopods(Hanlon, In press) and the sea hare,Aplysia spp. (Fay, 1971), can and havebeen used extensively in neuroscienceand behavioral research.

However, despite these incentives,molluscan culture in the greater Carib­bean is, with few exceptions, in its in­fancy when compared with the status ofthese activities in such countries asJapan, Australia, France, Spain, theNetherlands, and others. In addition,available information on the molluscanculture in the Caribbean is limited. Incontrast, the journal Aquaculture(Morse et al., 1984) devoted over 400pages to "Recent innovations in cultiva­tion of Pacific mollusks." Possiblybecause of the vastness of the PacificOcean and variety of marine habitatsand molluscan species, the research ef­fort is more extensive than in the Carib­bean. Nonetheless, the importance of

increasing food production in the Carib­bean is every bit as important as it is inthe Pacific, and perhaps even more soconsidering the large human populationand the relative lack of other foodsources in many Caribbean islandnations.

Present molluscan mariculture activ­ities in the Caribbean can be divided in­to three categories: Semi-intensiveculture, extensive culture, and research.

Semi-intensive Culture

In the Caribbean, semi-intensive cul­ture of mangrove oysters, Crassostrearhizophorae, is presently practiced inCuba and Jamaica, while Americanoysters, C. virginica, are raised in Mex­ico and Venezuela, and the South Amer­ican rock mussel, Perna perna, iscultured only in Venezuela.

Cuba

Over a 12-year period (1963-74), bio­logical and ecological studies and breed-

Marine Fisheries Review

Figure 3.-Mangrove oyster culture system in Cuba.

ing experiments supervised by UnitedNations Development Program/Foodand Agriculture Organization (UNDP/FAO) experts, were conducted on man­grove oysters in Cuba, and many loca­tions were found suitable for culture. Amangrove oyster culture system wasdeveloped during the study period,based on known methods and the use ofinexpensive and readily available localmaterials (Nikolic et al., 1976).

Farming facilities, generally locatedin estuarine areas, consist of stockadesof palm posts driven into muddy orsandy bottoms, arranged in line or in aquadrangle (Fig. 2). Posts extend about1-1.5 m above the surface of the waterand are placed 2.5 m apart, supporting6 m long, wooden traverse beams. Redmangrove terminal branches, suspendedfrom the traverse beams with tarredropes or monofIlament nylon thread, areused as spat collectors. The collectorsare checked at least once a month (Fig.3) to make certain that the binding ropesare securely fastened, that collectors arefavorably located in terms of tidal cycles,and to remove fouling organisms andpredators. The oysters are harvested 5-6months after placing the collectors. Sub­sequent harvests take place each monththereafter, when the largest oysters arecollected during monthly cleaning oper­ations. (Nikolic et al., 1976).

The first commercial oyster farm inCuba, located on the northeastern shore,began operating in 1975. About 30 farmswere initially planned by Cuban of­ficials, with an estimated potential pro­duction between 6,500 and 7,500 t.However, because of industrial pollutionin the culture areas, only about 20 per­cent of the area could be used. Presentlythere are 19 farms in operation, with anestimated potential production between900 and 1,100 t of unshucked oysters. Inthe last 3 years, wide fluctuations inseasonality and abundance of spat settle­ment have adversely affected growoutschemes. To optimize oyster growout,it is necessary to have an adequate, con­sistent source of spat. A hatchery underconstruction and supervision of FAO ex­perts, combined with ongoing pilot scaleresearch on controlled reproduction andoyster larval maintenance, is expectedto produce sufficient spat consistently I.

47(4), 1985

Jamaica

In July 1977, a joint mangrove oysterculture project was set up by the Inter­national Development Research Center(IDRC) of Canada and the Governmentof Jamaica (through the Fisheries Divi­sion of the Ministry of Agriculture andthe University of the West Indies'Department of Zoology) to determine its

'Frias-Lepoureau, 1. A. Mariculture Section,Ministry of the Fishing Industry, Cuba. Personalcomrnun., I October 1984.

feasibility in arresting the loss in naturaloyster populations to land reclamation,particularly in the Kingston Harborarea, and to ensure a constant or in­creased supply of oysters. After 4 yearsthe culture system was considered viableso in 1980 an "Oyster Culture Unit" wasset up within the Ministry of Agricultureto operate pilot farms and provide exten­sion services2•

2MooYoung, R. R. Inland Fisheries Project, Min­istry of Agriculture, Jamaica. Personal comrnun.,8 November 1984.

3

The system adapted known oyster raft­culture methods to Jamaican conditions(Wade et aI., 1981). Spat collectors aremade of pieces of old car tires, cut into8 X 8 em squares and drilled in thecenter. These are strung together withmonofilament line, (10-12 collectors perstring), aged in seawater for 2 weeksbefore use, and then hung from bambooand mangrove racks in the intertidalzone to collect spat. When the preferreddensity of about 10 oysters per collec­tor has settled, the collectors are re­strung on long monofilament plasticlines, spaced with 10 em bamboo polesand tied to bamboo rafts. Flotation forthe rafts is provided by 44-gallon oildrums painted with antirust paint, andanchored by nylon ropes tied to80-pound concrete blocks. Market sizeof 7-8 em is reached in 6 months. Onlyabout 10 percent of production issuitable for marketing because of poach­ing, diseases, and fouling organisms, allmajor problems. In addition, somepotential growout sites located near ur­ban centers may give rise to health prob­lems caused by pollution; therefore, theJamaican government is consideringdepuration plants and strict marketingregulations (ADCP, 1983).

Oyster spat is presently collected atthe pilot farm of the Oyster Culture Unitin Bowden, Port Morant. Growout isonly carried out at this time in Port An­tonio, where local fishermen built andhave maintained growout rafts sinceJanuary 1982. Growout was attemptedat Falmouth, but was discontinued dueto high coliform counts. Microbialstudies to institute preventive measuresare under way in a joint project betweenthe University of the West Indies and theUniversity of South Florida.

Belmont-Bluefields is a proposedgrowout site. There are plans to growthe oysters in baskets and trays, whichproduce single shells instead of clusters,and which have more appeal for tourists.There is a high demand for oysters fromhotels and restaurants, and all presentproduction is readily sold in Kingston.No reliable production figures are avail­able but the quantities sold are reportedto be small. Three Jamaican workersfrom the Project have recently com­pleted overseas training at DalhousieUniversity in Canada through IDRC

4

scholarships. Finally, an experimentaloyster hatchery is being planned 3•

Mexico

In Mexico, commercial aquacultureactivities involving oysters (and sevenother groups of organisms which in­clude shrimp and lobsters) are reservedexclusively for aquaculture coopera­tives. Although the most successfuloyster farming cooperatives are locatedalong Mexico's Pacific coast (culturinga local species, Crassostrea cortezien­sis), experimental oyster culture in Mex­ico began in the lagoon of Tamiahua in1957 (Conrad, 1985). American oystersare also raised, and its most importantculture grounds are on Mexico's Gulfcoast, in the lagoons of Pueblo Viejo,Tamiahua, Tampamochoc, Machona­Carmen, Macoacan and others in theStates of Veracruz and Tabasco (Lizar­raga, 1974).

Seed is commonly collected on col­lars of oyster shell cultch, although rooftiles and wire-mesh or plastic bags arealso used. Spat collectors are placed instockades, hung from traverse beams,and after 2-3 months (when the seed is2-3 em) they are moved for growout.Two basic systems are used. In one thecollectors are placed on the bottom inareas consolidated with old oystershells, and in the other, a suspensionsystem is used with collectors strung ongalvanized wire strings, separated byplastic tubing, and hung in stockades.Growout time to commercial size (about8-10 em) is between 8 and 14 months,and the reported yield from these areasaverages 25 tons/ha (Haro et aI., 1983;Lizarraga, 1974).

The potential for increased oyster pro­duction in the Gulf of Mexico is con­siderable, with over 100,000 ha havingpotential for utilizing intensive culturetechniques (Haro et aI., 1983). Currentproduction is about 40,000 t/year, but adecline is predicted due to pollution inlagoons such as Tamiahua and others4,

where oil exploitation activities have

3Sessing,1. Jamaican aquaculturist, P.O. Box 642,Kingston 8, Jamaica. Personal commun., April1985.'Orbe, A. Centro de investigacion y EstudiosAvanzados lPN, Unidad Merida, Merida, Yucatan,Mexico. Personal commun., 6 November 1984.

resulted in destruction of natural beds(Conrad, 1985).

Venezuela

Experimental culture of the Americanoyster began in 1974 in the canals ofGuariquen, in the Gulf of Paria. TheCenter for Fisheries Research of Cu­mana, under the Ministry of Agricul­ture and Livestock, beginning in 1974,carried out several studies on the biol­ogy and culture potential of the Ameri­can oyster (unpubl.) which stimulatedthe creation of two commercial venturesin 1980. For spat collection and grow­out these operations used old tires cutin strips and hung from floating woodenrafts. In November 1980, there were 120rafts: 100 rafts were 15 x 6 m with 420strips each and 20 rafts were 15 X 14m with 800 strips each. Commercialsize, 8-12 em, is reached in 1 year.

The marketed production in 1980,1981, and 1982 was 170, 176 and 132tons, respectively. The estimated pro­duction of a single operation in 1980 wasabout 1,000 t, most of which could notbe marketed because the marketingchannels were inadequate to handle pro­duction. Studies of the economic feasi­bility of smoking and canning oystermeats, possibly for export, have beenmade (Cervigon, 1983). However, in arecent visit to Venezuela, the seniorauthor was informed that marketing dif­ficulties had apparently proved insur­mountable and that both commercialventures would cease operations.

The mangrove oyster was also thesubject of experimental and commercialculture in Venezuela. Experimentalculture began in the early 1960's, andthere were two commercial attempts,both using wild spat and floating rafts:One, in 1969, in the Gulf of Cariaco andthe other in 1971 in la Restinga lagoon,Margarita Island. Both faced problemsof spat settling, competition, and shellbrittleness, and both failed due to mar­keting difficulties (Mandelli and Acuna,1975; Cervigon, 1983).

Culture of rock mussels, Perna perna,began in 1960 in the Gulf of Cariaco innortheastern Venezuela (Fig. 4) usingslightly modified Spanish raft-culturetechniques (Iversen, 1966). Presently,there are two private ventures with 20rafts and seven smaller ventures with a

Marine Fisheries Review

Figure 4.-Rock mussel rafts in Venezuela.

total of 45 rafts operated by fishermen'scooperatives. The latter have not pro­duced any mussels in the last few yearsbecause of red tide problems in the areawhich, in August IfJ77, killed nine peo­ple who ate contaminated mussels.

Annual market production since IfJ72has ranged from 42 to 650 t. In 1980,production was estimated at 650 to 920t, but only 30 t were marketed due tored tide. In 1983, production was esti­mated at 182 t. This decrease is attrib­uted to the replacing of wooden spat col­lectors by tire strips to which musselspat reportedly cannot attach securely.Besides red-tide-related problems, com­mercially successful mussel culture inVenezuela faces marketing problemssimilar to that of oysters (Salaya et al. ,

47(4), 1985

IfJ73; Mandelli and Acuna, lfJ75; Cer­vigon, 1983). Extensive research on therearing of mussel larvae has been re­cently carried out at the Instituto Ocean­ografico of Universidad de Oriente inCumana5. A project to set up a musseldepuration plant is being planned, andanother project for a large-scale musselfarming operation was recentlypresented to the National Council forScientific Research of Venezuela(CONICIT) and is presently beingevaluated6•

'Cervigon, F. Fundacion Cientifica Los Rogues,Caracas, Venezuela. Personal commun., May1985.6Robaina, G. Universidad de Oriente, Boca de Rio,Isla de Margarita, Venezuela. Personal commun.,December 1985.

Extensive Culture

The queen conch, Strombus gigas, isthe only marine mollusk considered tobe cultured extensively in the Carib­bean. Increased demand for its meat,especially in u.s. markets, has resultedin overfishing and the decline of stocks,and has threatened its critical role as oneof the most important subsistence-levelfisheries of the area (Brownell andStevely, 1981).

Concern over the decline of stocks ledto extensive research on the mass-rear­ing of juveniles in hatcheries and usingthese juveniles to reestablish or replen­ish depleted natural populations. Suchresearch was carried on since about1980 in Bonaire, Puerto Rico, Los Ro-

5

ques Archipelago in Venezuela, Quin­tana Roo in Mexico, Turks and Caicos,Miami, and the Berry Islands in theBahamas (Iversen and Jory, 1985).

Preliminary results of many of theseresearch programs were presented in aConch Mariculture Session at the 35thAnnual Gulf and Caribbean FisheriesInstitute in Nassau, Bahamas, in Nov­ember 1982. What has happened sincethen? The projects at the University ofMiami, Los Roques and the BerryIslands have ended due to lack of finan­cial support. The project in Puerto Ricomight not receive further funding7.

However, there is also encouragingnews. The Bonaire hatchery reportedrearing and releasing 750,000 juvenilesoff Bonaire in 1984 in deep waterswhere they will not be easily accessibleto fishermen8• This may be an exampleof technological success, but does notimply economic feasibility. A hatcheryis being set up at the Hydrolab site atSalt River on St. Croix, U.S. VirginIslands, mainly to obtain animals forfurther research9. And construction ofa hatchery is about to begin on the islandof Martinique, French West Indies1o•

The senior author recently visited thePuerto Morelos hatchery in QuintanaRoo, Mexico, and was informed that itis preparing for its first field release ofhatchery-reared juveniles. Finally, in1984 Trade Wind Industries, Inc.ll, con­structed and started operating the firstcommercial queen conch hatchery onthe island of Providenciales, Turks andCaicos. During the 1984 spawningseason, 20 larviculture tanks were inoperation, and the juvenile conchs pro­duced were stocked in protective cagesnear the hatchery. The company re­portedly has also acquired sea-bottom

'Appeldorn, R. Department of Marine Sciences,University of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico. Personalcommun., October 1984."Hensen, R. Department of Agriculture and Fish­eries, Bonaire. Personal commun., October 1984.·Coulston, M. L. Hydrolab Project West IndiesLaboratory, Fairleigh Dickinson University, SI.Croix. Personal commun., 22 October 1984.'OBazin, P. Association pour Ie Development deI'Aquaculture a la Martinique, Martinique. Per­sonal commun., September 1984."Mention of trade names or commercial firmsdoes not imply endorsement by the NationalMarine Fisheries Service, NOAA.

6

leases to grow conch to commercialsizel2.

The release size for hatchery-rearedconch discussed, and recommendedand/or used so far varies from 2 cm(Siddall, 1983), to 5 cm (Creswell,1984) to 12-15 cm (lory and Iversen,1983; Woon, 1983). The release size canhave important consequences on the rateof survival to market size. There is goodscientific evidence that natural mortalityis greater for smaller individuals, andhatchery-reared mollusks are no excep­tion (Jory et al., 1984), including queenconch (Appeldoorn and Ballantine,1983; Jory and Iversen, 1983) as wellas other mollusks such as abalone13. Re­cent large-scale releases of small (2-5cm) hatchery-reared conchs in Bonaire,Mexico, Venezuela, and St. Croixshould provide an indication of the opti­mum release size.

Pilot Projects andResearch Activities

Bahamas

Molluscan mariculture has been at­tempted at three locations in the Baha­mas. In the middle 1970's a private com­pany conducted a pilot experiment withimported American oysters. In a ponddredged out for a dock project in Rud­der Cut Cay, Exuma, the water was fer­tilized and imported oyster spat wasplaced in rafts. The project was prompt­ly abandoned due to very slow growthrates.

The second study, growing oystersand clams in rafts by the Wallace GrovesAquaculture Foundation of Freeport,produced discouraging results. The thirdstudy is by Worldwide Protein BahamasLtd., using imported spat of Americanand European oysters and hard clams,Mercenaria mercenaria, grown in dis­charge canals from company shrimpponds on Long Island. Preliminaryresults indicate that fouling by algae andparticulate matter hinder production.Water temperatures were too high for

"Creswell, L. Center for Marine Biotechnology,Harbor Branch Institution, Inc., Florida. Personalcommun., November 1984.I3Haaker, P. California Department of Fish andGame. Personal commun. October 1983.

European oysters and the species maybe abandoned, but growout of Americanoysters and hard clams continues. Inaddition, the company recently obtainedpermission from Bahamian authoritiesto import Manila clams, Iapes japon­icus, from the Philippines, for growouttrials l4.

Turks and Caicos

The Smithsonian Institution's MarineSystems Laboratory has recently soughtto determine the culture potential of thetopshell or magpie shell, Cittariumpica. Its life cycle has been closed (Hes­linga and Hillmann, 1981), and prelim­inary results indicate that juvenilesplaced in floating cages can reachmarket size in 12-18 months. Similarresearch has also been carried out in theDominican Republic, Antigua, and St.Vincent15. The Mariculture Team of theMarine Systems Laboratory visited theisland of St. Lucia where they demon­strated topshell culture methods; theseappeared to be easily adapted to localconditions, and the feasibility of estab­lishing a pilot project was indicated 16.

Topshells are widely consumed in theCaribbean; the species has been over­fished in many areas and several nationsare contemplating plans to regulate itsfisheries. Mariculture may be a viableoption to increase production since top­shells appear to fulfill many of thecriteria for commercial culture.

St. Lucia

In 1983 a joint "Experimental OysterProject" was started on St. Lucia be­tween a local yacht charter company andthe Fisheries Management Unit of theMinistry of Agriculture, Lands, Fish­eries, and Cooperatives. ImportedJapanese oyster, Crassostrea gigas, spatwere placed in bamboo and plastic meshrafts at two sites. Unfortunately, the raftsat one site were destroyed but there are

I4Higgs, C. Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries andLocal Government, Nassau, Bahamas. Personalcommun., October 1984."Bernard, W. L. Marine Systems Laboratory,Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Per­sonal commun., October 1985.'6Walters, H. D. Ministry of Agriculture, Lands,Fisheries, and Cooperatives, Castries, SI. Lucia.Personal commun., 5 October 1984.

Marine Fisheries Review

plans for a second attempt. In addition,several local private concerns have con­tacted the Fisheries Management Unitfor advice regarding oyster culturel6.

Panama

Between January and December 1979,two pilot studies were conducted todetermine culture potential of the man­grove oyster. Two experimental farmswere located in the Archipelago deBocas del Toro, using the Cuban culturesystem described earlier in this paper.Preliminary results were encouragingbut the project was not scaled-up to acommercial level 17. University of Pana­ma and University of Delaware scien­tists are jointly experimenting with com­mercially important bivalves withencouraging results at the University ofPanama's Centro de Ciencias del Mary Limnologia laboratory on Panama'sPacific coast18.

Colombia

Studies on mangrove oyster biology,preparatory to culture, have been carriedout at the Cienaga Grande de SantaMarta and in the Gulf of Uraba on theCaribbean coast of Colombia. Researchhas concentrated on basic biologicalaspects of the oysters and testing for thebest methods of spat collection andgrowout. Results are very encouraging;it may be possible to raise oysters inclosed suspended baskets to commercialsize (6-8 cm) in about 7 months. Bot­tom culturing methods are not suitablein the Gulf of Uraba due to the heavysedimentation coming from the RioAtrato (Wedler, 1980; Aguilera, 1984).No plans for commercial scale-up werementioned.

St. Kitts and Nevis

In 1981 the Government of St. Kittsand Nevis and the IDRC tried unsuc­cessfully to establish a pilot project toculture mussels. The project failed be­cause no suitable local species of mussel

I7Arosemena, D. H. Departamento de Direccionde Recursos Marinos, Panama. Personal com­mun., 28 September 1984.I8D'Croz, L., and 1. R. Villalaz. Centro de Cien­cias del Mar y Limnologia, Facultad de CienciasNaturales y Farmacia, Universidad de Panama.Personal commun., 29 October 1984.

47(4), 1985

could be found. In 1983 the project wasredesigned into a Conch ManagementProgram with a "red algae, Graci/ariaspp., Research Project" as a subcom­ponent, which continues19•

Nicaragua

In 1976, an oyster culture pilot studywas carried out with assistance fromJapanese scientists, using strung scallopshells separated by PVC spacers andhung from mangrove structures. Spatwas successfully collected and grownduring the dry season (May-December)but failed during the rainy season dueto depressed salinities and high sedi­mentation in the estuarine site. Oystersgrew well up to 81 mm, but mortalitieswere more than 80 percent. Becausemost of the Nicaraguan coastline whereoysters can be raised has similar estu­arine conditions, government officialsare not inclined to conduct further oysterculture experiments2o.

Puerto Rico

Experiments to determine the com­mercial feasibility of mangrove oysterculture started in December 1972, withthe joint support of the Puerto RicoDepartment of Agriculture and the U.S.National Marine Fisheries Service.These experiments consisted of moni­toring growth of collected spat in bags,with frames made of concrete-coatedplywood and plastic sheeting suspendedfrom 3 x 4 m rafts. Oysters reportedlyreached market size in 2 months (Wat­ters and Prinslow, 1975). No commer­cial oyster culture presently exists inPuerto Rico. The Commonwealth Gov­ernment encourages such nondestruc­tive uses of its coastal lagoons which arecoming under increasing developmentpressure21.

U.S. Virgin Islands

Since May 1972, the St. Croix Arti-

"Wilkins, R. Department of Agriculture, St. Kittsand Nevis. Personal commun., 2S September1984.2°Martinez Casco, S. Centro de InvestigacionesPesqueras, Instituto Nicaraguense de la Pesca. Per­sonal commun., 4 October 1984.2ITorres, F. Corporation for the Development andAdministration of the Marine Resources, PuertoRico. Personal commun., 7 November 1984.

ficial Upwelling Project on the northshore of the island produced phyto­plankton by pumping nutrient-rich sea­water from 870 m depth into 100 m2

ponds. This was used to feed oysters,clams, and scallops which grew ade­quately. A pilot-scale operation wascarried out between October 1976 andOctober 1978 in which Manila clamsproduced in the Project Hatchery weresuccessfully grown to determine yieldsand production costs. Very encouragingresults were also obtained culturingbrine shrimp (Roels et al., 1979). TheProject apparently developed into TheMaritek Corporation in 1980 (SeafoodBusiness Report, 1984), and is presentlyengaged in penaeid shrimp culture in theBahamas22.

Other Candidates

Caribbean Species

Milk Conch

The milk conch, Strombus costatus,although considerably smaller than thequeen conch, is nevertheless of com­mercial value. Its biology has beenstudied and it has been reared for possi­ble use in the marine aquarium tradeand for extensive mariculture. Hatcherytechniques, predation problems, andoutlook are very similar to those for thequeen conch (Appeldoorn and Ballan­tine, 1983).

Great White Lucineand Gaudy Asaphis

In many Caribbean areas, low pri­mary productivity generally precludesculturing suspension-feeding mollusks.Recent research has shown two clamspecies, the great white lucine, Codakiaorbicularis, and the gaudy asaphis, Asa­phis deflorata, to have possible chemo­autotrophic capabilities through a sym­biotic relationship with sulphur-fixingbacteria within their gill tissues; hence,they have been suggested as viable mari­culture candidates. Both species havebeen reared in the laboratory, andchemical analyses have shown that the

22Higgs, C. Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries andLocal Government, Nassau, Bahamas. Personalcommun., July 1984.

7

great white lucine is relatively high inprotein, carbohydrates, and calories butlow in cholesterol compared with otherclam species (Berg and Alatalo, 1982).It has also been speculated that in­dustrial sulfide wastes may be adaptedto a mariculture system involving theseclams (Berg and Alatalo, 1984). Nopilot or commercial projects to rearthese clams are planned 23.

Cephalopods

Many cephalopod species are impor­tant research subjects in neuroscience,environmental toxicology, learning be­havior, and other areas. The highlydeveloped giant axon of squids, for ex­ample, is used in numerous models ofvisual experimentation (Hanlon andForsythe, In press). In addition, fish­eries biologists have recently begunusing cultured cephalopods for life-cycleanalyses (Hanlon, In press). The advan­tages of laboratory-cultured cephalopodsto the researcher include the consistentavailability of experimental animals ofknown species, age, sex, and environ­mental background (Hanlon and For­sythe, In press). In the Western Atlan­tic, cephalopods are presently beingcultured on an experimental scale at theMarine Biomedical Institute of the Uni­versity of Texas Medical Branch,Galveston, Tex.24, and at the Centro deInvestigaciones Cientificas de la Univer­sidad de Oriente, on Margarita Islandoff northeastern Venezuela (Robaina,1983).

Roger Hanlon of the Texas MarineBiomedical Institute reports24 that thelife cycles of several Octopus and Loligospecies have been closed, and extensiveinformation pertinent to their potentialcommercial mariculture has been ac­cumulated. He further reports receivingrequests from people interested in cul­turing cephalopods commercially in thesouthern Caribbean.

The only known commercial cultureoperation of cephalopods is in Japan,where Octopus vulgaris is reared; pro­duction in recent years was about 50 tannually (Boletzky and Hanlon, 1983).However, "the outlook for future com-

23Berg, C. 1. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institu­tion. Personal commun., 7 November 1984.24R. Hanlon, Marine Biomedical Institute, Texas.Personal commun., 5 November 1984.

8

mercial culture of cephalopods is un­predictable, because it is predominant­ly an economic consideration. Whenand if the capture fishery cannot meetthe market demand, culture will receiveemphasis" (Hanlon, In press). Finally,cephalopods may have much potentialin the aquarium trade, because of thespectacular color changes of manyspecies and because they can be easilymaintained in aquariums (Hanlon, Inpress).

ScallopsScallops of the family Pectinidae are

the basis of several important commer­cial fisheries around the world. Com­mercial scallop farming in Japan hasbeen very successful, and scientists else­where are trying to adapt Japanese tech­niques to their own countries (Wood,1978). Pilot research continues world­wide, and in Latin America, Peru(Wolff, 1984), and Mexico (Kimbrough,1983) have recently reported commer­cial culture operations. Those, however,are on the Pacific coast; no pilot- orcommercial-scale scallop culture projectis known in the Caribbean. Research oninduced reproduction and larval rearingis being carried on in Venezuela25. Berg(1984) recently suggested scallop cultureas having potential in Bermuda.

Pearl Oysters

Pearl oysters have been successfullycultured for many years in Japan,Republic of Korea, China, Australia, In­donesia, the Philippines, and othercountries, and the techniques are wellknown. Berg (1984), in reviewing theculture potential of Bermudian bivalves,mentioned that there appears to be noreason why these techniques could notbe successfully applied to Atlantic pearloysters, Pinctada spp. On Mexico'sPacific coast the pearl oyster, P mazat­lanica, has been experimentally cul­tured26. No information is available onpresent or recent research on pearloyster culture in the Caribbean, al­though in Venezuela aspects of itsbiology have been studied to some ex-

"Padron, M. Universidad de Oriente. Boca deRio, Isla de Margarita, Venezuela. Personal com­mun., 5 December 1985.26Diaz, G. 1. J. 1969. Cultivo experimental demadreperla, Pinc/aOO maza/tanica, en la Bahia deLa Paz, Baja Calif., Mex., (mimeogr.) 12 p.

tent (Martinez, 1971), and a researchproposal is currently being evaluated27•

Pen Shells

The culture potential of pen shells,Pinna carnea and Atrina rigida, wasalso reviewed by Berg (1984), who con­cluded that they seem to have poorpotential because of the possibly longplanktonic development which wouldmake larval rearing difficult. He alsomentioned that they may be suitable asan additional species in a polyculturesystem, since they seem to invest littleenergy developing viscera and shell andtherefore might grow very fast. Penshells are very valuable in several Carib­bean countries, and in Mexico, wherethey command higher prices thanshrimp and as high as abalone (aboutU.S.$IO.OO/kg as of early 1985)28. Ashellfish hatchery to produce larvae ofcommercially important bivalves, in­cluding several species of oysters,clams, scallops, and pen shells, recent­ly started operating in Bahia Kino, in theGulf of California (O'Sullivan, 1984).No commercial or research projects areknown in the Caribbean.

Exotic SpeciesGreen Mussels

A species from the Indo-Pacific, thegreen mussel, Perna viridis, is con­sidered to be a good candidate for intro­duction into the Caribbean. Presentlythere are over 5,000 ha under its culturein Thailand and the Philippines. Re­search at the Harbor Branch Institutionin Florida has shown considerablepotential for this species' culture inlocalized Caribbean areas where pri­mary productivity is sufficient to sup­port filter-feeding bivalves29.

Giant Clams

Species of giant clams, Tridacnaspp., are being intensively studied atvarious institutions in the Philippines,Australia, Micronesia, and Californiafor possible commercial culture. These

"Robaina, G. Universidad de Oriente, Boca deRio, Isla de Margarita, Venezuela. Personal com­mun., 4 December 1985.28Reyes, C. Instituto Tecnologico y de EstudiosSuperiores de Monterrey, Guaymas, Sonora, Mex.Personal commun., March 1985.2·Creswell, L. Center for Marine Biotechnology,Harbor Branch Institution, R. Personal commun.,November 1984.

Marine Fisheries Review

clams have a thin layer of tissue in theirmantle where zooxanthellae live andprovide food (Munro and Heslinga,1983). This aspect of their biology isunique and actually is a strong plus forthe species' introduction to the Carib­bean, particularly in areas of low pro­ductivity that cannot support filter­feeding bivalves such as oysters ormussels. Cultured tridacnids from Palaumay soon be introduced to the island ofGuadaloupe, pending approval of importpermits30. However, as with any otherexotic species, the possible ecologicalconsequences of introducing any newspecies into a new environment mustfirst be carefully considered, as isstrongly urged by Munro and Heslinga(1983).

Discussion and Conclusions

Molluscan mariculture is nonexistentin several Caribbean countries; in a fewit is at an experimental or incipient stageof development while only a handful ofcommercial molluscan culture opera­tions presently exist anywhere in thearea. Three species of bivalves (Ameri­can and mangrove oysters and rockmussels) are raised in semi-intensivefacilities; one gastropod, the queenconch, is raised in extensive culture(mass-reared in hatcheries and releasedto augment natural populations).

Techniques for oyster and mussel cul­ture are very similar, involving wild spatcollection on different substrates (i.e.,from mangrove branches to syntheticropes) and growout with the collectorssuspended from floating rafts or woodenstockades. These techniques haveproven successful in some Caribbeancountries and have potential in severalothers. Queen conch culture involvesmass-rearing juveniles in hatcheries andfield growout to commercial size; thefirst has had limited success so far whilethe second remains unproven.

Introduction of exotic molluscanspecies into the Caribbean must be care­fully considered. Several native species,particularly filter-feeding bivalves, ap­pear suitable and should be exhaustive­ly studied before considering any intro­duction. An exception may be that of

30Heslinga, G. Micronesian Mariculture Demon­stration Center, Palau. Personal commun.,February 1985.

47(4), 1985

exotic species with phototrophic capa­bilities, such as giant clams, which maybe suitable for introduction in thoseareas where the naturally low primaryproductivity precludes the culture offilter-feeding species. However, muchcare should be exercised if these or anyother exotic species is introduced intothe Caribbean, and guidelines such asthose recommended by the InternationalCouncil for the Exploration of the Seashould be followed (ICES, 1972).

Several problems still hamper Carib­bean molluscan culture. These includeinsufficient biological information onpotential candidate species, dependencyon wild spat, lack of economic informa­tion, few trained technicians, inadequatemarketing channels, low primary pro­ductivity in many areas, and pollutionand public health considerations.

The FAa Species Identification Sheetsfor Fishery Purposes of the WesternCentral Atlantic (Fischer, 1978) list 37bivalves and 24 gastropods which arelarge, edible, and common enough toserve as human food. Several of thesespecies of oysters, clams, scallops, arks,mussels, and pen shells, as well asothers not included in the FAa sheets,may meet the criteria for culture candi­dates proposed by Bardach et al. (1972)and Webber and Riordan (1975).

However, adequate biological infor­mation on which to judge the feasibil­ity of culture projects for many speciesis lacking, particularly concerningreproductive aspects (spawning season,larval stage requirements) and growthrates and factors which affect it. Re­search in progress at several Caribbeaninstitutions will help alleviate this. How­ever, economic support for researchsometimes may end prematurely, as inthe case of the queen conch, whosebiology and culture potential (includinghatchery techniques) was intensively in­vestigated at several institutions for afew years, until funding was discon­tinued. UNDP/FAO has advocated es­tablishment of a Caribbean RegionalAquaculture Center, which has alsobeen strongly supported by countries inthe region and may be approved and im­plemented in the near future3l.

"Choudhury, P. C. Fishery Resources and En­vironment Division, FAO, Rome. Personal com­mun., 28 September 1984.

To depend on natural spat settlementas a source of seed for commercialgrowout is generally not advisable be­cause of the wide fluctuations in spatabundance and settlement due to bioticand abiotic factors. Cuba, for example,has reported such problems for theiroyster culture operations, and is inves­tigating controlled reproduction andoyster larval maintenance as well as con­struction of a hatchery. Other countriessuch as Mexico, Jamaica, Panama, andVenezuela are operating or planninghatcheries and/or are involved in activeresearch for this purpose.

Economic problems also hamperdevelopment of Caribbean molluscanculture (as well as culture of most othermarine species), particularly the dis­tribution channels and availability of theproducts. Acceptability of seafood is nota problem: Most Caribbean islands andcountries bordering the Caribbean havehigh rates of seafood consumption (>20g/person per day), and in some of thesecountries fish constitutes almost 20 per­cent of the total protein source (Olsenet aI., 1984). Adequate distributionchannels and product availability prob­lems must be viewed in terms of theadded technological and economic bur­den involved in processing and market­ing highly perishable products in placeswhere refrigeration may be unavailableor inadequate (May, 1978). That inade­quate marketing channels are a problemtoday is exemplified by the Venezuelanoyster culture operations discussedpreviously.

Another problem is pollution and re­lated public health considerations. Sincethe Caribbean is generally a developingregion with relatively modest industrial­ization and urbanization, water pollutionfrom land-produced wastes has notreached the alarming levels of more in­dustrialized regions. However, there arelocalized areas where marine pollutionfrom industrial, domestic, and agricul­tural wastes, and from oil productionand transport, is a problem (Rodriguez,1981), and this is likely to become aproblem in other areas as industrializa­tion and urbanization occur.

Estuarine areas are particularly af­fected by pollution and urban develop­ment. Besides being highly productivenursery grounds for many commerciallyimportant animals, clean estuaries are

9

also needed for molluscan culture.Public health aspects of pollution mustbe especially considered because the oc­currence of human viruses in mollusksfrom waters lightly to moderately pol­luted is well documented (Vaughn andLandry, 1984) and because informationon the extent of pollution in the Carib­bean (i.e., from sewage) is very limited(Rodriguez, 1981).

Finally, the harvesting of culturedmollusks may often have to be restrictedowing either to periodic red tide out­breaks, as in the case of the Venezuelanmussel culture operations discussed, orto ciguatera poisoning, which may oc­cur in populations of topshells of cer­tain areas (Olsen et al., 1984).

In conclusion, molluscan mariculturein the Caribbean has a long way to goto partially augment catches from tradi­tional capture fisheries. It is doubtfulthat it can soon achieve the productionper unit area obtained in other parts ofthe world because it is still in its infancyand many of the problems remain un­resolved. However, current and plannedresearch are encouraging.

Acknowledgments

This report is based on a search of theavailable literature and on personal com­munications with researchers, fisheriesofficers, and administrators involved inor knowledgeable about aquacultureactivities throughout the Caribbean,whose contributions we thankfully ac­knowledge. A shortened version of thismanuscript was presented at the Novem­ber 1984 MEXUS-GULF IV and Gulfand Caribbean Fisheries Institute 37thAnnual Meeting in Cancun, Mexico.

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