Protective socking material for cultivated mussels: a potential non-disruptive deterrent to reduce losses to diving ducks

Predation of cultivated mussels by diving ducks can threaten the viability of mussel farms. Conventional scaring tactics have had limited success at deterring ducks from feeding on cultivated mussels, because of rapid habituation and 24-h feeding cycles of some waterfowl species. We tested a socking...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Aquaculture international 2006-12, Vol.14 (6), p.595-613
Main Authors: Dionne, Mark, Lauzon-Guay, Jean-Sébastien, Hamilton, Diana J., Barbeau, Myriam A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anatidae
Aquaculture
Aquatic birds
Biodegradation
Diving
Ducks
Marine
Mollusks
Mytilus edulis
Shellfish farming
Waterfowl
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Summary:Predation of cultivated mussels by diving ducks can threaten the viability of mussel farms. Conventional scaring tactics have had limited success at deterring ducks from feeding on cultivated mussels, because of rapid habituation and 24-h feeding cycles of some waterfowl species. We tested a socking material containing a biodegradable protective layer against predation by diving ducks on experimental blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) aquaculture sites in Prince Edward Island, Canada. We also assessed the effect of this new socking material on mussel growth and survival. Results showed that the protective socking has the potential to reduce losses to ducks, but did not perform well for all mussel seed sizes used by the industry. The protective layer also did not biodegrade fast enough, trapping a portion of mussels inside the sock, affecting growth and survival of these mussels. Improvements are needed to make this solution effective for all mussel sizes used by the industry and to make its production more cost effective.[PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
ISSN:0967-6120
1573-143X
DOI:10.1007/s10499-006-9058-x