Influence of season, initial size, depth, gear type and stocking density on the growth rates and recovery of sea scallop, Placopecten magellancius, on a farm-based nursery

Hatchery-reared sea scallop (Placopecten magellanicus) spat weremonitored for growth and recovery in three experiments to determine themost suitable system for nursery culture. In Experiment I, four size classesof nursery-sized spat held at two depths from October to July exhibiteddeclining growth rates over the winter period and increased growth ratesin the spring. Overall, season, depth and initial size had a significantinfluence on the absolute and specific growth rates of scallops. Recovery,defined as number of scallops remaining after mortality and loss of spatthrough gear mesh, was influenced by season and initial size, but notdepth. Scallops in the 3.0 mm⁺ size class had higher growth rates andrecovery than those in the 1.4–1.6 mm, 1.7–1.9 mm and 2.0–2.9 mm sizeclasses. In Experiment II, two gear types containing similar size spat werecompared. Growth rates were significantly higher in 3.0 mm pearl nets thanin 3.0 mm collector bags, although recovery was similar between the twoequipment types. Experiment III, two stocking densities of nursery-sizedspat were compared in collector bags. Neither growth rate nor recoverywere significantly different for the two densities (2600 and 5200spat/collector bag) tested. Overall, these studies indicated that importantparameters for optimizing the growth and recovery of scallops in a farm-based nursery system include season, initial spat size, deployment depthand gear type.