CULTURE POTENTIAL OF THE RAZOR CLAM SOLEN MARGINATUS (PENN?NT, 1777).

The objective of this study was to determine whether Solen marginatus could be cultured to commercial size. Fertilized eggs measured 156.2 μm in diameter and they were surrounded by a 30-μm-thick chorionic envelope. Settlement occurred on day 9 when a length of 302.6 μm was reached. The percentage of settlement varied between 28.2 and 80.9%. Growth of post-set razor clam spats was described by the equation L=0.006x1.644, where L=length in mm and x is the number of days of culture. The razor clam seed reached a length of 19.1 mm at 4 months. One-year-old juveniles measured 38.5 mm and commercial size was reached with three-year-old individuals (80.1 mm). Survival in the ongrowing experiment ranged between 50 and 83%. The life cycle of this species was closed, obtaining larvae from the individuals reared in the ongrowing experiment.