Photo credit: Wilder Rodrìguez Arteaga (Peru)
Review: Abdel Rahman El Gamal (Founder of the website)
Historically, the collection of scallop spat from the wild has been the most common practice for obtaining young scallops as required for aquaculture operations or stock enhancement programs.
No matter how much methods or collection gears vary, the idea behind the process is almost the same by letting the scallop larvae to pass through the mesh of the collector to be attached to selected substrates on which they start to grow and metamorphosis into post-larvae (spat) that are collected and transferred to scallop farming facilities for on-growing.
During the early days, the onion sacks filled with fine mesh netting were used for the collection of scallop spat; they were already available. The bags used for scallop spat collection are still called onion sacks by some people.
The enhancement in the spat collection process resulted in variety of sacs of different meshes and filling materials. In the present, the spat collection bags are made from knotted polyethylene. There are two parameters which should be considered in determining the mesh size of spat bags; the species of the scallop and so there size as well as the hydrographic conditions, particularly the degree of siltation. The mesh size varies from 0.75mm for very deep water or slow growth areas of the spat; 1.5mm for standard growth; and 3.0mm for rich oceans.
Spat bags as shown in the photo are filled with artificial substrates such as mono filamentous fibers or soft netlon; there are other filling materials that are also in use.
A 50-100 m-line system of spat collectors are set in areas known by its high scallop productivity; the collector line is anchored to the seafloor. Collections can vary from less than 100 spats to more than 500 spat per beg.
