WWW.WAS.ORG • WORLD AQUACULTURE • SEPTEMBER 2017 33 and 37 t of scallops. The global value of the production in Santa Catarina in 2015 was US$ 25 million. As filter feeders with no feed input and natural recruitment of spat, mussel farming requires much lower capital in comparison to finfish production, and payback times are also much shorter. In the sub-tropical conditions of Santa Catarina, the Brazilian mussel grows two to three times faster than in other producing countries, achieving longer shell length and higher meat yield. With ideal water temperature, access to environment licenses and marine aquaculture leases, a shellfish sanitation program in place, and nearly 600 smallscale farmers already established and legalized, Santa Catarina offers a good investment environment for the development of industrial mussel farming. In addition to regulated mollusc farms, Santa Catarina depends on a State Program for Shellfish Control and Sanitation to maintain a surveillance program for coliform bacteria levels and toxic algae in all farming regions, with classification of areas according to their pollution levels and the authority to close farming areas when a harmful algae bloom occurs. A mollusc traceability program was developed in cooperation with FAO and the state government will start to adopt this tool in 2017. Unlike other Brazilian states, the Santa Catarina government is making strong sanitary vigilance and law enforcement efforts to ensure that all fishery production, including farmed molluscs, takes place inside inspected installations. This action promotes the legal market and the value chain of regulated products, and is gradually eliminating competition from illegal products in the seafood market. Santa Catarina is now adopting a strategic plan for further development of bivalve mollusc production in the next ten years. The plan is based on the best recommendations available for sustainable aquaculture planning, with a participatory approach and the consideration of all social, economic and environmental aspects related to this industry. Mechanization of production, traceability and the creation of a brand are key elements of this plan. Octopus – a Native Species with High Potential Octopuses have become one of the most promising marine invertebrates suitable for species diversification because they combine many attractive biological features for culture, established markets and high market value (Vaz-Pirez et al. 2004, Vidal et al. 2014). As such, octopus culture is an excellent option for further development of aquaculture in Brazil. Native species, such as Octopus vulgaris and Octopus insularis have economic importance and wide distribution along the Brazilian coast, with O. vulgaris found in subtropical to temperate waters and O. insularis, a recently described tropical species (Leite et al. 2008), is very robust to culture conditions and adapted to withstand high temperatures (Lenz et al. 2015). Octopods have a high protein content and high growth rates (CONTINUED ON PAGE 34) LEFT and RIGHT: Shrimp research facilities in northeast Brazil. Photo: Pål Myhre. LEFT and RIGHT: Cage farming of marine fish off the coast of São Paulo state. Photo: Pål Myhre.
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