Biometrics, condition index and meat yield of edible rock oyster, Saccostrea cucullata (Born, 1778)

Abstract

Rock oysters of the genus Saccostrea are the dominating group of filter-feeding communities on rocky beaches worldwide. The edible rock oyster (Saccostrea cucullata) is used as food and fish bait along the Indian coast. Morphometric analyses of S. cucullata from Baindur, Karnataka (India) were performed from June 2010 to May 2011, aiming to establish relationships between length and weight (total weight, shell weight, meat wet weight and meat dry weight). Morphometric relationships between length (L)-breadth (B) and length (L)-width (W) were B = 6.4952 + 0.4619 L and W = 3.1806 + 0.3276L, respectively. The equations of the length (L)-total weight (TW), length (L)-shell weight (SW), length (L)-meat wet weight (WW) and length (L)-meat dry weight (DW) were TW = 0.001227L2.3973, SW = 0.001165L2.3164, WW = 0.000037L2.1327 and DW = 0.000030L2.3289, respectively. The allometric growth pattern revealed changes in shell shape and weight variation throughout ontogeny in rocky habitats. The condition index and meat yield of S. cucullata exhibited seasonality, with higher values recorded during the periods post-monsoon and pre-monsoon.