EFFECT OF WAVE ACTION ON MUSCLE COMPOSITION, METABOLITES AND GROWTH INDEXES IN THE NEW-ZEALAND ABALONE, PAUA (HALIOTIS-IRIS), WITH IMPLICATIONS FOR HARVESTING AND AQUACULTURE

Abalone from exposed locations subject to heavy wave action may incur greater metabolic costs and structural stress in muscles used for atta chment than do abalone in aquaculture or from sheltered sites. Because foot and adductor muscle texture and flavor affect economic value, we sought evidence of differences attributable to wave action among popu lations of the commercial New Zealand abalone, Haliotis in's. Evidence of environmentally induced changes were not found for condition indic es relating shell and soft body proportions; muscle composition, such as total protein, collagen or water content; muscle biochemistry, such as intracellular pH buffering capacity, adenylate content, homarine o r inositol monophosphate (IMP) content; blood hemocyanin concentration and muscle RNA content indicative of protein synthesis and somatic gr owth rates. The major difference in muscles of animals from exposed si tes were higher activities of the glycolytic pyruvate reductase enzyme , tauropine dehydrogenase, and lower glycogen content. The differences imply that abalone exposed to heavy wave action routinely depend on b outs of anaerobic muscle work associated with attachment and locomotio n but that the absence of wave action in aquacultural practice may not adversely affect muscle properties. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Inc.