This research represents the first attempt in Italy to develop a cage system for adult freshwater mussel stocking, for extensive farming, that was realized from 2003 to 2005 in NW Italy. Two autochthonous species of Italian freshwater mussel were used: Anodonta anatina and Unio mancus. 5133 mussels were collected and successively stocked in floating cages in 5 different sites in a lake. This st...

This research represents the first attempt in Italy to develop a cage system for adult freshwater mussel stocking, for extensive farming, that was realized from 2003 to 2005 in NW Italy. Two autochthonous species of Italian freshwater mussel were used: Anodonta anatina and Unio mancus. 5133 mussels were collected and successively stocked in floating cages in 5 different sites in a lake. This st...

Aquaculture, as a means of food production, is growing rapidly in response to an increasing demand for protein and the over-exploitation of wild fisheries. This expansion includes mussels (family Mytilidae) where production currently stands at 1.5 million tonnes per annum. Mussel culture is frequently perceived as having little environmental impact yet mussel biodeposits and shell debris accumu...

trossulus) and use as fishing bait have long been supported in the northeastern United States by a small-scale fishery supplying largely niche markets. Mussels have been consumed since pre-colonial times and served as a ready supply of inexpensive seafood protein during wartime periods (1917 and 1942) in America (Miller, 1980). Markets for mussels expanded in the 1970s and 1980s leading to the ...

this research represents the first attempt in italy to develop a cage system for adult freshwater mussel stocking, for extensive farming, that was realized from 2003 to 2005 in nw italy. two autochthonous species of italian freshwater mussel were used: anodonta anatina and unio mancus. 5133 mussels were collected and successively stocked in floating cages in 5 different sites in a lake. this st...

Green mussels (Perna viridis) can effectively remove nutrients from seawater through their filtration process. This study aims to estimate “net” nutrient removal rate by green mussel through calculation of nutrient uptake and release. Nutrients (carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus) uptake was calculated based on the mussel filtration rate. Nutrient release was evaluated from carbon, nitrogen and ph...

Mussel aquaculture has expanded worldwide and it is important to assess its impact on the water column and the planktonic food web to determine the sustainability of farming practices. Mussel farming may affect the planktonic food web indirectly by excreting bioavailable nutrients in the water column (a short-term effect) or by increasing nutrient effluxes from biodeposit-enriched sediments (a ...

Introduction Bivalves from the genus of Mytilus are present throughout the world oceans and seas. Among them, family of Mytilidae is represented with 5 species, from which two are commercially important in Europe: Mytilus edulis (Blue mussel) and Mytilus galloprovincialis (Mediterranean mussel). Mediterranean mussel is distributed throughout the Mediterranean coast, but is also found on the coa...

Fish predation interferes with mussel seed population dynamic and is an important limiting factor on seed supply in several areas of mussel farming production. In the present study we assessed the impact of fish predation in a mussel farm sited in the Rıa de Ares-Betanzos (Galicia, NW Spain). To assess fish impact on recruitment, we have quantified mussel recruitment densities with or without e...