Effect of photoperiod on conditioning of the great scallop

A 45 days experiment was conducted by exposing adult scallops with empty gonads to three different photoperiod regimes under constant food and temperature conditions: Simulated natural/decreasing photoperiod (N), constant photoperiod (C) and increasing photoperiod (I). At the end of the experiment the I and C groups had significantly higher gonad indexes and larger oocyte diameters compared to the N group. No significant changes were found in the N group during the experiment. The adductor muscles and digestive glands did not change significantly during the experiment and no differences were found between the groups. These results suggest that photoperiod affects early rebuilding of gonads in scallops from Western Norway.