The Atlantic sea scallop, Placopecten magellanicus, is an emerging commercially-farmed product in Maine’s growing aquaculture industry. Currently reliant upon wild scallop spat production, development of hatchery produced sea scallops could create opportunities with year-round seed availability, improved seed reliability and potential for selective breeding initiatives. The Atlantic sea scallop’s prolonged larval phase has proved to be a challenge, especially when coupled with larval sensitivity to environmental conditions and hatchery expenses. Historically, although there have been research-scale successes with Atlantic sea scallop hatchery production, repeatable, large-scale seed production has remained elusive and hence the impetus for this collaborative hatchery project.
This four project has focused on early stage sea scallop larval and post-set culture to improve survival and growth, and develop guidelines for husbandry that can be replicated reliably to help grow the sea scallop aquaculture industry in Maine. Three Maine hatcheries engaged in this effort: Mook Sea Farms, the University of Maine’s Darling Marine Center and the Downeast Institute. Here, we describe findings and lessons learned from this collaborative effort. Completed hatchery experiments will be discussed including conditioning and spawning trials, larval culture in static versus flowthrough systems, effects of buffered seawater on larval growth and survival, and effects of temperature on larval growth and survival.