Performance of the Winged Pearl Oyster Pteria sterna (Gould, 1851), Maintained in Hanging Culture at Three Depths, in the Eastern Equatorial Pacific

This study evaluated the performance of P. sterna under suspended culture at three depths (2, 6, and 10 m). Juveniles (dorso-ventral length 42.6±0.94 mm) were placed in enclosures suspended on a long line in Palmar (Ecuador) from October 2018 to October 2019. The antero-posterior axis of the shells, the shell, softs tissues, and biofouling masses, and the survival rate, were determined during one year of culture. Chlorophyll-a, total particulate matter (TPM), particulate organic matter (POM), salinity and temperature were studied at each depth. At the end of the cultivation period, growth and survival rates did not show significant differences between water depths, with all oysters attaining dorso-ventral lengths of 102-106 mm. Principal components analysis (PCA) revealed a direct and significant relationship between the variance of soft tissue dry mass growth and chlorophyll a concentration, salinity, particulate organic matter (POM) concentration, and temperature, during the culture period evaluated. Thus, the results obtained indicate that the suspended culture of the winged oyster P. sterna in Ecuador can be carried out effectively within the range of 2 and 10 m of depth, obtaining relatively high yields (growth-survival).