ICAR-CMFRI, Kochi achieves breakthrough in hatchery production of oyster spat

In a significant milestone in strengthening oyster aquaculture along India’s east coast, Madras Regional Station of the ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Kochi has achieved a breakthrough in successful hatchery production and transfer of 1 lakh cultchless spat of the Indian backwater oyster (Crassostrea madrasensis).

The spat were produced at the Kovalam Field Laboratory, Chennai, under the PMMSY–Blue Growth Project, and subsequently supplied to the Mangrove Cell, Maharashtra, demonstrating the successful transfer of hatchery production technology beyond Tamil Nadu.

The achievement addresses a key challenge faced by bivalve farmers the unreliable availability of natural oyster seed. Erratic spatfall, climate variability, environmental fluctuations and other human-induced factors can affect natural recruitment, leading to fluctuations in seed availability and bivalve production along the east coast.

To overcome this constraint, the Madras Regional Station established the first research-scale bivalve hatchery facility on the east coast of India at the Kovalam Field Laboratory, with the objective of producing quality bivalve seed throughout the year and supporting the diversification of bivalve aquaculture.

The success has been further strengthened by the production of attached edible oyster spat at the Kovalam facility. Around 1.5 lakh pediveliger larvae successfully settled and attached to cleaned shell substrates, resulting in the production of attached oyster spat. These spat are planned to be utilised for farming trials in Pulicat Lagoon, paving the way for further demonstration and development of oyster farming technology along the Tamil Nadu coast.

The twin achievements successful production of cultchless spat for transfer and attached spat for farming trials highlight the potential of the Kovalam facility as a source of quality oyster seed and as a platform for advancing hatchery-based oyster aquaculture along the east coast of India.

(Source: ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Kochi)