Effects of stocking density on the aquaculture performance of diploid and triploid, Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas and Portuguese oyster C. angulata in warm water aquaculture

The Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) and the Portuguese oyster (C. angulata) are important oyster species for commercial aquaculture. In this study, three stocking density regimes, including 20, 30 and 40 oysters/basket, were used to study the effects of stocking density on growth performance, survival rate and lipid nutritional quality of diploid and triploid C. gigas and C. angulata. The experiment lasted 163 days, from to 22 November 2011 to 3 April 2012. The main findings of this study are as follows: (1) C. gigas has growth advantage over C. angulata in Shantou waters; (2) geographic origin of the oysters has an impact on the overall performance of diploid and triploid oysters; (3) triploids are generally no growth and survival advantage over diploids in spring and summer; (4) oysters at low stocking density were generally outperformed those at high stocking density; (5) lipid composition of oysters is not affected by ploidy and stocking density; (6) in Shantou waters, C. angulata is more nutritious than C. gigas. This study compares the performance of C. gigas and C. angulata triploidy for the first time. The findings of this study can provide useful information to be applied in oysters aquaculture.

Automated summary

This study found that C. gigas has a growth advantage over C. angulata in Shantou waters, oysters at low stocking density generally outperformed those at high stocking density, and lipid composition of oysters is not affected by ploidy and stocking density.