CULTURE OF LARVAL SPINY LOBSTERS - A REVIEW OF WORK DONE IN NORTHERN JAPAN

The method developed over the past decade in northern Japan to culture phyllosoma larvae of five species of principally cool-temperate spiny lobsters combines the features of upwelling water, cocultured microal gae, and use of mussel gonad as food. The feeding behaviour of the phy llosomas shows that they are primarily predators with the pereiopods a nd secondarily plankton feeders with the maxillipeds and maxillae. Rec ent work has shown that contamination of culture water by microorganis ms such as the fouling protozoans Vorticella spp. can greatly reduce p hyllosoma survival. The significance of co-cultures of microalgae in m aintaining water quality is not yet fully understood. Newly hatched la vae of sailfin sandfish (Arctoscopus japonicus) is an excellent food f or late-stage phyllosomas of Jasus verreauxi. About 5% of J. verreauxi phyllosomas metamorphosed into pueruli. Mortality during the puerulus stage was reduced by increasing the capacity of the culture tanks fro m 30 L to 100 L. A single Palinurus elephas phyllosoma raised in co-cu lture with diatoms and fed mussel gonad and A. japonicus larvae metamo rphosed into a puerulus in 65 days after seven moults.