Introduction,spat-rearing and experimental culture of bay scallop,Argopecten irradians lamarck

Bay scallops were introduced from the east coast of the U.S. into China to shorten the economic turn-over from 2 to 1 year. Parent scallops were carried to Qingdao on Dec. 20, 1982 and stocked in indoor tanks at controlled temperature and fed with a mixture ofPhaeodictylum tricornutum, Pyramimonas sp. andChlorella sp. They spawned on Jan. 26 of the next year. The larvae were reared at a temperature of 18–21°C and fed withIsochrysis galbana, Pyramimonas sp. andChorella sp. In 4 weeks’ growing, the spats averaged 827 μm. They attained a height of 6.9 mm on May 9. In the middle of May, the seed scallops were transferred to Luoyuan Bay in Fujian Province, and Jiaozhou Bay, as well as the area off Taiping Jiao Cape, Qingdao, Shandong Province for experimental culture in plastic netcages suspended on a single line raft. Bay scallops cultured in Luoyuan Bay grew to an averaged shell height of 10.4 mm. In Jiaozhou Bay and the Taiping Jiao Cape culture area, they grew to 50 mm in average shell height (marketable size) and 26 g in average weight by late September; and attained 59 mm in average shell height (R. 39–75 mm) and 46 g in average weight in late December. The ovary and testis could be distinguished by color in August. In early September, eggs and sperms were collected for our laboratory where the second generation of seed scallops was successfully reared to suitable size for growing outdoor and breeding. This species can be harvested within a year after fertilization of the eggs, so we consider it suitable for culture in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea. This is the first reported successful introduction of Atlantic mollusks to the China Seas. This paper was published in Chinese inOceanologia et Limnologia Sinica 17 (5): 367–374, 1986.