Abstract

One of the strategies that has been considered for the restoration of natural populations of the conch Strombus gigas denuded by fishing, is the production of seed stock for culturing in the laboratory. The purpose of this study is to determine the viability of the handling and growth of juveniles in the sea. Until now, this approach has received little attention, however, the successful mariculture of this species hinges on mastering the control of this phase. Therefore, this study proposes the design of an underwater system in the sea for raising juvenile Strombus gigas. The operational advantages of this approach and the factors that were considered in determining the design will be discussed such as: the behavior of juveniles in confinement, the strategies that predators use to gain access to these systems, the manipulation of the surface area and of the diets used in culturing, the load capacity of these culture systems as well as the selection of the appropriate habitats for that installation of this underwater system. Experiments were undertaken to determine the appropriate diets and substrates to be used as well as the optimal culture densities. Data will be shown with respect to the efficiencies obtained using a prototype of this system over a 90 day period in culture in the sea. In addition, the process of transfer of this technology to the fisheries cooperatives, using pilot production units (PPU) will be discussed in terms of their viability and efficiency.

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