Growth of Winged Pearl Oyster (Pteria penguin) Juveniles: A Comparison of Wire Collector Culture and Circle Net Culture

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to identify effective techniques for the culture of the winged oyster (Pteria penguin) by comparing the growth and mortality of juveniles cultured on a self-designed wire collector and in traditional circle nets. The juveniles were hatchery reared, nearly 5 mo old, and were cultured in Li'an Lagoon, Hainan Island, China. The mean shell height (SH) and total weight (TW) of the juveniles was 26.06 ± 3.43 mm and 5.85.88 ± 2.258 g, respectively. They were held for 7 mo in suspended culture either on self-designed wire collectors or in circle nets. The collector was made of galvanized seizing wire, consisting of a top circle, a bottom circle, and 3 pillars between the 2 circles. Every collector was settled with approximately 150 spat and hung naturally in the sea. The oysters cultured in circle nets had three stocking densities: 10 juveniles (D10), 20 juveniles (D20), and 30 juveniles (D30) per net. Juveniles held on wire collectors and in D10 circle nets showed the greatest ...