Nursery culture of Haliotis rubra: The effect of cultured algae and larval density on settlement and juvenile production

Abstract

In the present study we investigated the use of a green macroalga Ulvella lens on a commercial scale to improve the settlement and early growth of Haliotis rubra larvae. Two conditioning methods were evaluated comparing plates covered with U. lens grown over 4 and 18 days. An average settlement rate of 62% was estimated 3 days after larval release. This rate is amongst the highest recorded in commercial nurseries, suggesting that this technique of conditioning the settlement plates was efficient and reliable. Larvae showed a clear preference for older plates with a lower cover of U. lens. Larvae were released at two densities (50,000 and 100,000 larvae per 1000 l tank representing approximat..