As part of the EU project, Oysterecover, which is aimed at investigating the causes and potential solutions of the decline of the European flat oyster Ostrea edulis, IMARES investigated the efficiency of different spat collectors. The objective of these spat collectors is to provide a substrate for larvae to settle and recruit, thereby concentrating the number of oyster spat to a profitable quantity which can then be removed and reared in a hatchery. IMARES tested three types of spat collectors, Chinese hats (a collector currently used commercially), Mussel stockings (a collectors currently being tested and used commercially by some farmers) and a plastic mesh (not a commercially used spat collector but one with an experimentally successful review in the literature).
More info: www.imares.wur.nl (Project leader: Pauline Kameramans)
Produced by: Anneke van den Brink
Year: 2012
Language: English
