Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Growth of the queen conch Strombus gigas, with a discussion of the practicality of its mariculture

  • Published:
Marine Biology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Data on the growth of the large marine snail Strombus gigas was obtained from specimens collected as veligers in the plankton and reared through metamorphosis, from larger individuals (5.5 cm) reared in a mariculture system, and from field tagrecapture experiments. Using the von Bertalanffy growth equation, I estimate that 1, 2, and 3 year-old juvenile snails are 10.8, 17, and 20.5 cm in maximum shell length, respectively. The snails reach the flaring-lip stage after 3 years and have a mean longevity of another 3 years. Approximately 12% of the total weight of a juvenile snail is marketable meat. Measurements of meat weight, shell length, and total weight are highly correlated with one another, thereby providing reliable means of assessing meat yields from living snails. The mariculture of S. gigas is feasible, but because of the snails' slow rate of growth it may not be economically practical at this time. Perhaps local fisheries in the Caribbean Sea could be reestablished and/or maintained by seeding subtidal algal flats with hatchery-reared juvenile snails.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Literature Cited

  • Abbott, R.T.: Kingdom of the seashell, 256 pp. New York: Crown Publishers 1972

    Google Scholar 

  • Adams, J.E.: Conch fishing industry of Union Island, Grenadines, West Indies. J. trop. Sci. 12, 279–288 (1970)

    Google Scholar 

  • Berg, C.J., Jr.: Ontogeny of the behavior of Strombus maculatus (Gastropoda: Strombidae). Am. Zool. 12, 427–443 (1972)

    Google Scholar 

  • Boss, K.J.: Conchs. In: The encyclopedia of marine resources, pp 135–140. Ed. by F.E. Firth. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold 1969

    Google Scholar 

  • Boss, K.J. Conch fisheries. In: Symposium on commercial marine mollusks of the United States. Rep. malac. Un. Pacif. Div. 1970, 33–34 (1971)

  • Dammann, A.E.: Study of the fisheries potential of the Virgin Islands. Spec. Rep. Caribb. Res. Inst. 1, 1–204 (1969)

    Google Scholar 

  • D'Asaro, C.N.: Organogenesis, development, and metamorphosis in the queen conch, Strombus gigas, with notes on the breeding habits. Bull. mar. Sci. 15, 359–416 (1965)

    Google Scholar 

  • Doran, E.: The Caicos conch trade. Geogrl Rev. 48, 388–401 (1958)

    Google Scholar 

  • Eisawy, A.M. and A.E. Sorial: The egg-masses, development and metamorphosis of Strombus (Monodactylus) tricornis Lamarck. Proc. malac. Soc. Lond. 38, 13–26 (1968)

    Google Scholar 

  • Epstein, S. and H.A. Lowenstam: Temperature-shell-growth relations of recent and interglacial Pleistocene shoalwater biota from Bermuda. J. Geol. 61, 424–438 (1953)

    Google Scholar 

  • Fabens, A.J.: Properties and fitting of the Von Bertalanffy growth curve. Growth 29, 265–289 (1965)

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gunter, G.: The molluscan resources of the Gulf of Mexico. F.A.O. Fish. Rep. 1971 (2), 111–116 (1971)

    Google Scholar 

  • Harding, J.D.: The use of probability paper for the graphical analysis of polymodal frequency distributions. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K. 28, 141–153 (1949)

    Google Scholar 

  • Iverson, E.S.: Farming the edge of the sea, 301 pp. London: Fishing News Ltd. 1968

    Google Scholar 

  • Little, C.: Notes on the anatomy of the queen conch, Strombus gigas. Bull. mar. Sci. 15, 338–358 (1965)

    Google Scholar 

  • Longwell, A.C. and S.S. Stiles: Oyster genetics and the probable future role of genetics in aquaculture. Malac. Rev. 6, 151–157 (1973)

    Google Scholar 

  • Menzel, R.W.: The possibility of molluscan mariculture in the Caribbean. F.A.O. Fish. Rep. 1971. (1), 156 (1969)

    Google Scholar 

  • — Possibilities of molluscan cultivation in the Caribbean. F.A.O. Fish. Rep. 1971 (2), 183–200 (1971)

    Google Scholar 

  • Randall, J.E.: Contributions to the biology of the queen conch Strombus gigas. Bull. mar. Sci. 14, 246–295 (1964)

    Google Scholar 

  • Robertson, R.: Observations on the spawn and veligers of conchs (Strombus) in the Bahamas. Proc. malac. Soc. Lond. 33, 164–171, (1959)

    Google Scholar 

  • Sigel, M.M., L.L. Wellham, W. Lichter, L.E. Dudeck, J.L. Gargus and A.H. Lucas: Anticellular and antitumor activity of extracts from tropical marine invertebrates. In: Food-drugs from the sea proceedings 1969, pp 281–294. Ed. by H.W. Youngken, Jr. Washington, D.C.: Marine Technological Society 1969

    Google Scholar 

  • Slobodkin, L.B.: Growth and regulation of animal populations, 184 pp. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston 1963

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, C.C.: Growth equations with metabolic parameters. J. Cons. perm. int. Explor. Mer 27, 270–286 (1962)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA

    C. J. Berg Jr.

  2. City College of New York, New York, USA

    C. J. Berg Jr.

Authors
  1. C. J. Berg Jr.
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Additional information

Communicated by M.R. Tripp, Newark

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Berg, C.J. Growth of the queen conch Strombus gigas, with a discussion of the practicality of its mariculture. Marine Biology 34, 191–199 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00388795

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00388795

Keywords

Search

Navigation