Hatchery production of European lobster (Homarus gammarus, L.): broodstock management and effects of different holding systems on larval survival

The biometry of wild berried females was collected during an entire reproductive season at the South-Wexford Lobster Co-op hatchery in Nethertown, Ireland. Second degree regressions between total body weight (TW, g) and carapace length (CL, mm) (TW=CL2 -36.675CL+1793.2, R2=0.9022) and number of “wea...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Italian Journal of Animal Science
Main Authors: Rodolfo Ballestrazzi, John Hickey, Gianni Contarini, Nicoletta Perrella
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2010
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.4081/ijas.2008.351
https://doaj.org/article/38b731036f514a4bb92c72f16382cebf
Description
Summary:The biometry of wild berried females was collected during an entire reproductive season at the South-Wexford Lobster Co-op hatchery in Nethertown, Ireland. Second degree regressions between total body weight (TW, g) and carapace length (CL, mm) (TW=CL2 -36.675CL+1793.2, R2=0.9022) and number of “weaned” larvae and carapace length (Larvae number=1.217CL2–21.777CL-5281.1, R2 =0.743) were observed. Afterwards, berried females were divided according to two variables: 1. holding system: recirculating system (Rs) vs barrel (Bar); 2. CL size: <101 mm (A), 101-120 mm (B), >120 mm (C). The total weight of larvae (212.5 vs 92.4 g) and their numbers (7788 vs 5679) were significantly higher for the largest females than for the smaller sizes (P<0.01). The maximum survival rate of larvae (77.86%) was noted for initial stocking density <1000 individuals/hopper, but the optimal stocking density for management purposes in the hatchery is higher (2001-3000 individuals/hopper).