Abstract
ABSTRACT In Sasebo Bay, northwestern Kyushu, Japan, the population of the razor clam Solen gordonis inhabits a coarse sandy substratum at 5- to 20-m water depths. A bundle of long metal rods with cone-shaped tips is used to vertically pierce and harvest clams from fishing boats. Knowledge of the ecological traits of this species and the fishery impact on the population is crucial for sustainable management. In April 2014 to March 2015, quadrat sampling by divers, experimental fishing surveys, and retrieval of clams detached from the fishing gear were conducted monthly. The grand mean individual density at the fishing ground was 555.7 inds/m3. New recruitment occurred in mid-November 2014, and the population excluding the recruits was divided into four cohorts by age according to shell-length-frequency distribution. Individual growth was described based on von Bertalanffy growth function, with L ∞, K, and t0 being 95.7 mm, 0.548/y, and -0.109 y, respectively. The estimated mean shell lengths at the 1+, 2+,...
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