Hatchery future trends

Abstract To date, European mussel culture has relied entirely on wild seed from suspended collectors or mussel beds. One problem faced by blue mussel producers is the unpredictability of seed supply, the amounts of wild seed available being extremely variable from year to year. A second problem is that recently spawned mussels cannot be sold due to insufficient meat. Hatcheries can complement wild seed supply. Hatcheries also allow triploid induction that produces non-maturing mussels. In this chapter, the different steps in hatchery production of mussel seed are described. A final section addresses future trends. 

In the following sections, outcomes of the BLUE SEED project in the different steps in hatchery production of mussel seed are described. A final section addresses future trends. 

Future trends will be focused on the production of higher added-value products. Otherwise, the production of normal seed by hatchery techniques will be not be profltable in most cases compared with the cost of obtaining the wild counterparts. The advantages of triploidy, in terms of added-value for the producers and the consumers, remain to be demonstrated and a recent review reveals many of the constraints that have limited the potential value of ploidy manipulation in fish and shellfish (Piferrer et al, 2009). 

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