WWW.WAS.ORG • WORLD AQUACULTURE • JUNE 2018 57 Constraints and Potential However, despite good growth rates and the valuable nutritional quality of the mussels, offshore mussel production in the Algarve presents limitations such as high maintenance costs during winter storms and capture restrictions. The southern coast of the Algarve is sheltered from the prevailing conditions of the North Atlantic. Nevertheless, maximum wave height can reach 4-8 m during major storm events. Marine agitation is also responsible for the loss of considerable amounts of mussels and gear destruction. In addition, the long periods of capture restrictions because of the high concentration of biotoxins, especially Diarrhetic Shellfish Poisoning (DSP) can be a major limitation to offshore mussel production in Armona. In 2016, captures were closed between May and November, which means a commercial intermission of local companies exploring offshore production. The southern coast of Portugal presents favorable conditions for the establishment of offshore aquaculture production facilities. Relatively calm waters without extreme variations of temperature and salinity, good water renewal and good oxygen levels throughout the water column and excellent microbiological quality. This environmental quality provides conditions for the production of bivalves of excellent quality, able to satisfy domestic and international markets. Investing in the development of scientific knowledge and technology to minimize the effect of biotoxins on production may further enhance the commercial potential of this resource. Notes João Araújo, Florbela Soares, Pedro Pousão-Ferreira Portuguese Institute for the Ocean and Atmosphere (IPMA), Aquaculture Research Station (EPPO), Parque Natural da Ria Formosa s/n, 8700-194 Olhão, Portugal Corresponding author: João Araújo (joao.araujo@ipma.pt) References Baptista, M., T. Repolho, A.L. Maulvault, V.M. Lopes, L. Narciso, A. Marques, N. Bandarra and R. Rosa. 2014. Temporal dynamics of amino and fatty acid composition in the razor clam Ensis siliqua (Mollusca: Bivalvia). Helgoland Marine Research 68:465-482. Costa, M. 1994. Agitação Marítima na Costa Portuguesa, Anais o Instituto Hidrográfico, nº13, p5, Instituto Hidrográfico. Dias, J.M.A. 1988. Aspectos geológicos do Litoral Algarvio. Geonovas (Lisboa). Vol. 10: 113-128. Hale, M.B. 1984. Proximate chemical composition and fatty acids of three small coastal pelagic species. Marine Fisheries Review 46:19-21. INE (Instituto Nacional de Estatística). 2015. Estatísticas da Pesca. Instituto Nacional de Estatística, Portugal. Leitão, P., H. Coelho, A. Santos and R. Neves. 2005. Modeling the main features of the Algarve coastal circulation during July 2004: a down-scaling approach. Journal of Atmospheric and Ocean Science 10(4):421-462. Peng, S., C. Chen, Z. Shi and L. Wang. 2013. Amino acid and fatty acid composition of the muscle tissue of yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) and bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus). Journal of Food and Nutrition Research 1(4):42-45. Villalba, A. 1995. Gametogenic cycle of cultured mussel, Mytilus galloprovincialis, in the bays of Galicia (N.W. Spain). Aquaculture 130:269-277. FIGURE 5. Mediterranean mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) produced in the Aquaculture Pilot Production Area. Photo: Pedro Pousão-Ferreira. TABLE 1. Summary of the fatty acid profile of Mediterranean mussels produced in the Aquaculture Pilot Production Area (APPA). FATTY ACID TYPE PERCENT OF TOTAL FATTY ACIDS Saturated 35.6 Monounsaturated 13.8 Polyunsaturated 20:5ω-3 (EPA) 9.3 22:6ω-3 (DHA) 15.6 Despite good growth rates and the valuable nutritional quality of the mussels, offshore mussel production in the Algarve presents limitations. Marine agitation is also responsible for the loss of considerable amounts of mussels and gear destruction. The long periods of capture restrictions because of the high concentration of biotoxins, especially Diarrhetic Shellfish Poisoning (DSP) can be a major limitation to offshore mussel production in Armona. Investing in the development of scientific knowledge and technology to minimize the effect of biotoxins on production may further enhance the commercial potential of this resource.
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