(Experimental cultivation of Cassostrea brasiliana (Lamarck, 1819) in "Canal de Bertioga" São Paulo, Brazil. (23º54’30”S - 44º13’42”W)

Abstract

This experiment has the main goal of testing and stimulating the oyster culture of Crassostrea brasiliana at the Bertioga Channel. In that experiment we have used a lot of spats obtained from fixed oysters that had passed by the hardening treatment in Cananéia for 30, 20 and 16 weeks, with the average density of 6.7; 14.1 and 16.7 spats fixed in Pecten sp substrates. The average height of the shells was 32, 25 and 18 mm, respectively, for each considered hardening period. The spats that had been hardened for 30 weeks proved to be more resistant and better adapted for cultivation. The cultivated oysters, considering the convex and concave sides clustered in the substrates of Pecten sp, after 21 months, reached an average growth of 60.5 mm of height and an average survival of 49.33%, from the beginning of the hardening period until final phase of the cultivation. The water salinity ranged from 6.4 to 26.70% and the temperature from 18°C to 31°C during the period of cultivation.