Growth, survival and lipid composition of Crassostrea gigas, C. angulata and their reciprocal hybrids cultured in southern China

The Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas is an aquaculture important species and contributed significantly to total seafood production. Unfortunately, the C. gigas aquaculture industry is limited by cold water in high latitudes. On the other hand, C. angulata is well adapted to warm water but its size is much smaller. The present paper describes a comparative study of aquaculture performance of C. gigas, C. angulata and their hybrids in warm water. The growth, survival and lipid nutritional quality of inbred and hybrid oysters were monitored for one year and used as indicators to identify candidates suitable for oyster aquaculture in warm water. The main novelty of this study is the higher growth and survival rates observed in C. angulata relative to C. gigas, and the occurrence of hybrid vigour for growth and survival. Among the oysters, female C. angulata x male C. gigas hybrid has achieved the best aquaculture results in the Shantou water on the southern coast of China. The findings of the present study suggest that oyster hybridization can be an effective way to improve the beneficial traits of oyster for aquaculture, including fast growth, high survival rate and well tolerate to warm water temperature at lower latitudes.