Publication Abstract

Protecting Manial Clam (Tapes Philippinarum) beds with plastic netting

B.E. Spencer, D.B. Edwards and D.S. Millican

Protecting hatchery-produced Manila clam seed against shore-crab predation is an important cul-tivation requirement in estuaries and bays of the UK. This paper describes trials made with various types of plastic netting to provide optimum protection of clams in the soil against shore-crab preda-tion. Lightweight nets comprising < 30 g of plastic material per square metre of net offered the clams poor protection against predation when compared with heavy weight nets containing 500 g of plastic material per square metre of net. A strategy of deploying double layers of net or raising the net a few centimetres above the clam bed provided a cost-effective means of using cheaper lightweight nets to protect the clams.

Reference:

B.E. Spencer, D.B. Edwards and D.S. Millican, 1992. Protecting Manial Clam (Tapes Philippinarum) beds with plastic netting, Aquaculture, 105: 251-268