Right from the start: Advance in hatchery techniques and genetic resources management of the giant barnacle and european abalone in the Azores.

Objectivo

A healthy development of a sustainable aquaculture industry in the Azores is not solely dependent on technological advances but it is also dependent on the knowledge on genetic resources of the cultured organisms and wild populations. With the overall rationale to make the right things from the start for the development of the aquaculture industry in the Azores, the goals of this project are:

• Develop and test methods and technologies for seeds production of Megabalanus azoricus;
• Develop and apply genetic microsatellites molecular markers to analyse the genetic structure and the diversity of the wild and cultured populations of M. azoricus and H. tubercolata coccinea.

With these aims the project, responding to the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and, in particular, to its supporting Guidelines on Genetic Resource Management in Aquaculture, intend to give base knowledge and technologies to increase production output and to promote the conservation of aquatic genetic diversity with a responsible use of living aquatic resources. Moreover the project is intended to fill the lack of scientific information about the genetic structure in the Azores of M. azoricus and H. tubercolata coccinea. The project will also provide some advance in the knowledge of larval development and recruitment of M. azoricus.