Farming of bivalve shellfish produces significant economic values in the U.S. and has been recently recognized for its benefits to the environment. Farmed shellfish, however, can have inconsistent yield performances, with high mortality rates before harvest, placing a large financial burden on growers. Most shellfish farms on the U.S. Pacific Coast rely on hatchery-produced seed that are amenable to genetic improvement of desired production traits. Pacific Hybreed Inc. is a private research entity with a primary focus on shellfish breeding and genetics. By combining selection, crossbreeding, and on-farm trials, family-specific yield performances were evaluated across the Pacific Coast, from Alaska to Baja California.
Optimal yields may differ between different families at specific farm sites, suggesting the need to evaluate family-specific yield performances across sites to develop region-specific crosses. Results from different years further indicate the need for long-term breeding programs that work closely with commercial shellfish farms to optimize crop performances from seed to market-size products. Environmental monitoring at farm sites shows that while temperature has a significant effect on crop performance, it does not fully explain the difference in growth rate between sites. Besides contributing to the development of improved seed and broodstock for production, availability of multiple families with genetically based variation in response to the environment and the possibility to repeatedly produce such families will provide valuable resources to the research community with an interest in the relationship between genotype, phenotype, and the environment.