Aquaculture 2025

March 6 - 10, 2025

New Orleans, Louisiana USA

Add To Calendar 08/03/2025 12:00:0008/03/2025 12:20:00America/ChicagoAquaculture 2025THE EFFECT OF PREDATOR REMOVAL AND CAGE DISTURBANCE ON THE GROWTH AND SURVIVAL OF PLANTED SOFT-SHELL CLAMS Mya arenariaGalerie 4The World Aquaculture Societyjohnc@was.orgfalseDD/MM/YYYYanrl65yqlzh3g1q0dme13067

THE EFFECT OF PREDATOR REMOVAL AND CAGE DISTURBANCE ON THE GROWTH AND SURVIVAL OF PLANTED SOFT-SHELL CLAMS Mya arenaria

Natalia J. Schoenberg*, Kathleen E. Knick, Michael S. Seebo, and Rochelle D. Seitz

 

Virginia Institute of Marine Science, William & Mary

PO Box 1346, Gloucester Point, VA 23062, USA

*njschoenberg@vims.edu

 



The soft-shell clam (Mya arenaria) is an infaunal, filter-feeding bivalve native to coastal and  estuarine habitats between Nova Scotia, Canada, and North Carolina, USA. Commercial-scale  aquaculture and harvest of the species is limited to the northern portion of its range, yet there are  benefits to growing soft-shell clams in warmer climates; cultured clams grown over the winter  and spring in the Chesapeake Bay exceed growth rates of 1 mm shell length added per week and reach market size of 50 mm in under a year. Growth and survival of soft-shell clams, however, are negatively impacted by recruitment of predators and elevated water temperatures (> 28 °C)  over the summer in Chesapeake Bay. This project investigated whether grower interventions (i.e.  removing sediments and recruited predators from cages) could enhance soft-shell clam growth  and survival during the summer grow-out season. Between 15 May 2024 and 17 July 2024, 90  soft-shell clam aquaculture cages with &fraq14;-inch flexible predator-deterrent mesh were deployed  across three locations in the York River, VA. Clams were planted at a density of 1000  individuals per m2 (66 clams per cage), and cages were assigned one of 5 treatment groups:  weekly or biweekly sediment removal; weekly or biweekly predator and competitor removal; and an undisturbed control. Planting location and temperature were significant predictors of soft shell clam survival, but treatment group had no significant impact on survival. Treatment group  was a significant predictor of growth, with significantly smaller clams in cages handled more  frequently than the less-handled and control cages, suggesting that cage disturbance is  detrimental to the soft-shell clam grow-out cycle.