Molluscs and echinoderms aquaculture: biological aspects, current status, technical progress and future perspectives for the most promising species in Italy

Abstract

Shellfish aquaculture is a widespread activity in the Italian peninsula. However, only two bivalve species are mainly cultured along the coastline of that country: the Mediterranean mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis and the Manila clam Venerupis philippinarum (Ruditapes philippinarum). By contrast, just a few other mollusc species of commercial interest are scarcely reared at a small-scale level.After analysing the current status of Italian shellfish production, this paper reports and discusses the potential for culturing several different invertebrate species [i.e., the European flat oyster Ostrea edulis, the grooved carpet shell Venerupis decussata (Ruditapes decussatus), the razor clams Ensis minor and Solen marginatus, the cephalopod Octopus vulgaris, and the purple sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus] in this country.In addition, a detailed overview of the progress made in aquacultural techniques for these species in the Mediterranean basin is presented, highlighting the most relevant bottlenecks and the way forward to shift from the experimental to the aquaculture phase. Finally, an outlook of the main economic and environmental benefits arising from these shellfish culture practices is also given.

Effect of three diets on the gametogenic development and fatty acid profile of Paracentrotus lividus (Lamarck, 1816) gonads

“…Despite this, the rearing methods for sea urchins' aquaculture are not well‐established in the European countries, in contrast to other echinoid species worldwide. In an attempt to get ahead in this field, the number of studies on aquaculture and nutrition of sea urchins has grown exponentially in the last decade (Carboni, ; Carboni, Hughes, Atack, Tocher, & Migaud, ; Fabbrocini, Volpe, Coccia, D'Adamo, & Paolucci, ; Fabbrocini et al, ; James & Siikavuopio, ; Kelly & Chamberlain, ; Parisi et al, ; Prato, Chiantore, et al, ; Prato, Fanelli, et al, ; Sartori & Gaion, ; Sartori, Pellegrini, Macchia, & Gaion, ; Silva, ; Vizzini, Miccichè, Vaccaro, & Mazzola, ; Vizzini, Visconti, Vaccaro, & Mazzola, ; Zupo, Glaviano, & Paolucci, ).…”

Increasing the stocking density in Paracentrotus lividus larviculture: Effects on survival and metamorphosis rates

“…The increasing difficulty in meeting market demand through fishing has led in recent decades to investment in research supporting echinoderm aquaculture (Brown & Eddy, ; Parisi et al, ; Vizzini, Miccichè, & Vaccaro, ; Volpe et al, ).…”

Motility of sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus spermatozoa in the post-activation phase

“…Future research in these fields requires further technological advances, especially in reproductive biotechnologies such as controlled crosses and the creation of specific cell lines and gamete cryobanks (McClay, ; Suquet et al., ). Moreover, most sea urchin species are considered a food delicacy and have a great economic value and are therefore of great interest for aquaculture (Fabbrocini et al., ; Parisi et al., ). Thus, echiniculture, both large scale for commercial production and small scale for laboratory research purposes, also stands to benefit from the wider application of reproductive biotechnologies (Fabbrocini et al., ; Paredes, Bellas & Costas, ), and the characterization of the sperm motility patterns of the most important sea urchin species is the first step in their development.…”

“…In the last few decades, the interest of aquaculturists in the Mediterranean sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus has greatly increased (Parisi et al, 2012). The purple sea urchin P. lividus (Lamarck, 1816) is widely distributed in the Mediterranean area and along the North-Eastern Atlantic coasts (Bouduresque & Verlaque, 2013).…”