Abstract

Bay scallops have been touted as a sustainable food production technology.
While there is anecdotal evidence, there are only a few studies on the economics of
commercial scallops. In this study, restoration of bay scallop populations at east coast
of Malaysia, adult broodstocks scallops (82) and larvae (2000) were purchased from China
cold coast. The offsprings were grown in nursery setting to 20 mm shell height then
transplanted in artificial bond and raceway tanks. The growth, survival and reproductive
development were recorded on approximate 52-weeks regularly. Results suggest that
caged scallops and their mortality were high especially after the first year. During the
first year, 80% of the scallops subsisted and spawned, whereas 20% scallops survived
to the second year. Experiments were conducted to define the best placement of
enclosures. Some were placed outside the cold room with water temperature between
28-30 o C and salinity range of 29-30 g/l, some were placed in pond with the paddle wheel
on at night, another trial the paddle wheel on for 24 h, a trial in another pond in different
place and the last trial in a raceway tank containing water from pond which was running
in and out from raceway tank into pond recurrently. This study revealed that scallops
growth rate reached 4.79 cm but suffered higher mortality rate later. Overall results
suggested that establishing cultured bay scallops in cages could be fruitful approach for
increasing local bay scallop stock density.