Use of Deep Seawater for Rearing Japanese Scampi Lobster (Metanephrops japonica) Broodstock

Abstract

This study investigated the influence of deep seawater on survival, larval hatching, and molting of Metanephrops japonicus broodstock. Wild caught ovigerous female lobsters were reared in a laboratory at ∼ 15°C in both deep seawater (DSW) and surface seawater (SSW). The number of females with larvae that hatched was significantly higher (χ ² = 3.96, p < 0.05) for those reared in DSW than in SSW mainly due to excessive egg loss in females reared in SSW. The number of days from hatching to molting was significantly shorter (t = 2.22, p < 0.05) and the post-molt survival was significantly higher (χ ² = 5.86, p < 0.05) for females reared in DSW than in SSW. Deep seawater is suitable for rearing and hatching lobsters used as broodstock.

Keywords:

• deep seawater
• scampi lobster
• Metanephrops japonius
• rearing
• survival
• hatching
• molting

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am grateful to the members of Yaizu Fisheries Cooperative Association for their help with catching female lobsters. I thank the members of Shizuoka Prefectural Fisheries Experiment Station for their support in this study.

Notes

* Factors that differed significantly (p < 0.05) between the two water types.