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Marine Sciences Programme | PT7 follow-up meeting
On Thursday 18 April, the follow-up meeting for PT7 within the Marine Sciences Programme of Galicia (PCCMMG) will take place at CETMAR. The coordination team will include Jose Manuel Fernández Babarro, EsMaBa (IIM-CSIC), and Antonio Villalba García, CIMA-Corón (CIMA) (PTE).
Developing tools to improve sustainable shellfish production (PT7)
Shellfishing and bivalve-mollusc aquaculture in Galicia are interdependent, and the sustainability and improvement of bivalve production require coordinated actions in both areas. Aquaculture and shellfishing rely on sedentary benthic resources with complex life cycles and spatial structures, which makes these key sectors of Galicia’s marine economy highly variable and still difficult to predict. This is especially true of spatial and temporal variability in recruitment, which determines seed availability for grow-out in shellfish beds and farming facilities, and for restocking natural beds. The overall aim of this work package is to provide procedures and tools to guarantee a sustainable supply of seed and strengthen bivalve aquaculture within the sustainable exploitation of Galicia’s natural resources, addressing both recruitment in the natural environment (Action 1) and hatchery production (Action 2). Work will focus on three priority species: mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis, grooved carpet shell Ruditapes decussatus and pullet carpet shell Venerupis corrugata. The results will serve as a reference for future protocols applicable to other species.
Action 1. The objective is to create site-specific tools to effectively manage the natural supply of bivalve seed. Current stock monitoring networks will be assessed and improved where necessary, and new methodologies will be developed to evaluate key demographic parameters such as larval abundance and reproductive capacity. Emerging techniques such as natural trace-element marking and numerical modelling will be used to create connectivity matrices and identify key source-sink populations under different climate scenarios. This information will feed into a metapopulation model to predict larval dispersal and population dynamics, and will be integrated into an open Geographic Information System for decision-making in resource management.
Action 2. The objective is to optimise hatchery seed-production protocols for grooved carpet shell and pullet carpet shell, ensuring the supply of high-quality seed for grow-out and strengthening the resilience of exploited shellfish beds. Planned tasks include reliable broodstock conditioning protocols, spawning induction and cryopreservation of gametes and larvae; optimisation of larval and post-larval culture systems, diets and survival procedures; and detailed study of microbiota and associated pathogens through metagenomics and metatranscriptomics. Reliable hatchery production protocols are essential for future genetic-selection programmes for traits such as disease resistance and tolerance to environmental stress related to climate change.
On this page you can see more details about the work packages associated with PCCMMG.
Marine Sciences Programme of Galicia
IIM-CSIC coordinates, together with CETMAR and the University of Vigo, the new Marine Sciences Programme of Galicia, whose main challenge is the protection and sustainable management of marine ecosystem services and which involves more than 89 Galician research groups.
This new strategy will act through three major lines: observation and monitoring of the marine and coastal environment; sustainable, smart and precision aquaculture; and innovation, knowledge and opportunities to adapt to change in the marine economy.
The Marine Sciences Programme of Galicia is one of seven Marine Sciences programmes in the Complementary R&D&I Plans with the Autonomous Communities, part of Component 17, Investment 1 of the EU Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan. Its actions are funded through Next Generation EU and the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (FEMP/FEMPA).
On this page you can see more details about the actions associated with the Programme led by the CSIC Institute of Marine Research.