Suspended culture of the Manabí oyster Crassostrea cf. corteziensis in a tropical estuary

Abstract

Grow-out of the Manabí oyster (Crassostrea cf. corteziensis) under suspended culture conditions from the Chone River Estuary (Manabí, Ecuador) was evaluated. The culture was established in lanterns with 50 oysters/floor for seven months (July 2022 to February 2023) using juveniles (34.9±6.2 mm) collected from natural oyster beds in the same estuary. The growth and survival, as well as environmental variables in the culture site, were monitored. The growth in the shell dimension was continuous, reaching high rates during October and November. At the end of the study, 86.7±6.68 mm anteroposterior length, 110.7±19.04 g dry mass of the whole organism (with 3.7±0.67 g soft tissue), and survival of 92.6±2.62 % were obtained. No association was observed between the patterns of the growth curves and those of the environmental parameters; however, the decrease of body mass (during February 2023) was associated with increased temperature, decreased salinity, and lower phytoplankton content. Oysters of marketable size (80 mm) were obtained after seven months of culture. The results suggest the biological feasibility of cultivating the Manabí oyster C. cf. corteziensis in the Chone River Estuary, which could be an emerging species for aquaculture in Ecuador and the tropical American Pacific.