Reproductive Biology, Seed Production, and Culture of the Hawaiian Limpet Cellana sandwicensis (Pease, 1861)

Abstract

The purpose of this chapter was to describe the current finding on the development of aquaculture technologies for the Hawaiian limpet Cellana sandwicensis , known as “yellow opihi” in Hawaii. Some reproductive biology characteristics of C. sandwicensis were reported including spawning season, gonad maturation stages, maturity size, and fecundity. Monthly record of gonadosomatic index (GSI) suggested that the natural spawning season of C. sandwicensis occurred from November to January. Attempting studies on seed production have also performed and achieved several important key points such as inducing final maturation by incorporating arachidonic acid (ARA) into the diet and injecting salmon gonadotropin-releasing hormone analog (sGnRHa). Laval metamorphosis and settlement were successfully induced using a combination of algae Palova and benthic diatom Amphora . Stomach content analysis gave an insight into the palatability factor for further development of artificial feed; later on, the algae Porphyra commonly known as Nori was as attractive as a biofilm and was used as a feeding stimulant. Nutritional study on specific nutrient requirements such as protein, carbohydrate, and energy has been conducted and found that dietary 35% protein, 32% carbohydrate, and protein to energy (PE) ratio ranging from 87.2 to 102.9 mg/kcal could be used for the development of commercial feed for limpet C. sandwicensis .