Journal article
Developing a national spat collection program for pearl oysters in the Fiji Islands supporting pearl industry development and livelihoods
Aquaculture Reports, Vol.9, pp.46-52
2018
Abstract
Cultured pearl farming in Fiji relies on wild spat collection to supply the oysters used for pearl production. This supply can be inconsistent and a research program was implemented to determine recruitment of pearl oysters to spat collectors at sites throughout Fiji as a basis for developing a national spat collection program to improve reliability of oyster supply to the industry. Twenty-nine sites across Fiji were used in this study. Spat collectors consisted of a 100m longline from which 310 individual spat collectors were suspended. Spat collectors were deployed for a period of 10-15 months when the number of pearl oyster (Pinctada margaritifera and Pteria penguin) spat attached to each collector was counted and shell size recorded. A total of 5478 P. margaritifera juveniles were collected from all sites with the highest number of recruits (693) and the highest number of recruits per collector (2.10±0.17) occurring at Nacobau (Vanua Levu). The largest mean dorso-ventral measurement (DVM) of P. margaritifera at any site was 8.61±0.30 cm while the smallest was 4.26±0.13 cm. Some sites did not record any P. margaritifera recruitment during the study and these were generally sites with relatively turbid water. A total of 4224 Pt. penguin were collected from all sites, with the highest number of recruits (495) recorded from Namarai (Viti Levu). The mean DVM of Pt. penguin ranged from 7.53 cm to 13.62 cm across sites. Results indicate that Pt. penguin have greater tolerance of more turbid inshore sites than P. margaritifera based on greater levels of recruitment at these sites. Results identified sites supporting high levels of pearl oyster recruitment as a basis for an ongoing national spat collection program, and support better targeting of spat collection activities that maximise oyster supply to the Fijian pearl industry. The national spat collection program will generate significant livelihood benefits across Fiji and support continued expansion of the Fijian cultured pearl industry.
Details
- Title
- Developing a national spat collection program for pearl oysters in the Fiji Islands supporting pearl industry development and livelihoods
- Authors
- Pranesh Kishore (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Science, Health, Education and EngineeringGarry Bingnald Vuibeqa (Author) - Ministry of Fisheries and Forests, FijiPaul C Southgate (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Science, Health, Education and Engineering
- Publication details
- Aquaculture Reports, Vol.9, pp.46-52
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Date published
- 2018
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.aqrep.2017.12.004
- ISSN
- 2352-5134
- Copyright note
- Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/BY-NC-ND/4.0/).
- Organisation Unit
- School of Science and Engineering - Legacy; Australian Centre for Pacific Islands Research; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Science, Technology and Engineering
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99450344502621
- Output Type
- Journal article
Metrics
40 File views/ downloads
669 Record Views
InCites Highlights
These are selected metrics from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool, related to this output
- Collaboration types
- International collaboration
- Web Of Science research areas
- Fisheries
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
This output has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:
Source: InCites