Current status and perspectives of mollusc (bivalves and gastropods) culture in the Spanish Mediterranean

Abstract

This is a review of the current status, problems and perspectives of bivalve and gastropod culture in the Spanish Mediterranean. Along this coast, bivalve culture has traditionally been located in the two Ebro Delta bays, and in the harbours of Valencia and Mahón, where the main species is the mussel. At present, the Mediterranean mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis Lamarck, 1819 culture is developing in Andalusia. Ostreid culture is currently limited to two species, the Japanese oyster Crassostrea gigas (Thunberg, 1793) in the bays of the Ebro Delta, and the European oyster Ostrea edulis L., 1758 in Santa Pola (Alicante). Cultures of the grooved carpet and Japanese carpet clams, Ruditapes decussatus (L., 1758) and Ruditapes philippinarum (Adams & Reeve, 1850), are located only in the shallow areas of the Ebro Delta. In addition, beds of several species of clams and scallops are distributed along this coast, including the truncate donax Donax trunculus L., 1758, the striped venus Chamelea gallina (L., 1758), the tuberculate cockle Acanthocardia tuberculata (L., 1758) and the smooth callista Callista chione (L., 1758).