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The team has been cultivating
Octopus vulgaris larvae for the past two years and has
so far achieved a survival rate of up to four per cent.
Until now, larvae have not survived at all in the
laboratory, said José Francisco Carrasco, head of the
Centre's aquaculture department.
They also achieved excellent
results in fattening octopus in sea-submerged cages near the
Tapia de Casariego zone, for which they used specimens
weighing one kilogram, that were fed with species of low
commercial value, Carrasco told Periódico de Guijón.
So far the weight of captive
specimens has increased three and a half kilograms over a
three month period, with an 80 per cent survival rate. These
enclosures are like racks of PVC pipes where the species
grows in protected areas on the Asturian coastline.
The two projects, for
developing larvae cultivation and optimising the juvenile
fattening process are part of a national plan for octopus
farming that aims to design and test new larvae cultivation
systems and finding suitable prey to allow for more
widespread cultivation.
During these initial phases,
Asturian scientists achieved the best results compared with
similar projects in Galicia, Andalusia, Murcia, Valencia,
Catalonia and Baleares.
The multi-regional working
team will meet this week at the Asturias Centre for
Fisheries Experimentation to discuss the results achieved to
date and agree on projects for further development of this
significant commercial species.
All of the communities
participating in the commercial development of this species
are funded and overseen by the
National Advisory Council for Marine
Cultivation (Jacumar).
Jacumar, which comes under
the Ministry
of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, includes officials
from the General Fisheries Secretariat, aquaculture
management organisations in each of the autonomous
communities, and also aquaculture sector representatives.
Its primary mission is to foster cooperation and coordinate
aquaculture development between public administrations and
the productive sector.
By Patricia Diácono
FIS Latino |
