MytSeed

Innovation and sustainability in the hatchery production and natural collection of mussel seed for cultivation in rafts

 

CALL: Proyectos de Generación de Conocimiento 2024

REFERENCE: PID2024-155396OB-I00

FUNDING AGENCY: Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades

BUDGET: 215.625,00€

PERIOD: 01/09/2025 – 31/08/2028 

 

Project PID2024-155396OB-I00 is funded by the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, Spain (MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033) and by “ERDF/EU”.

 

 

SUMMARY

The limited availability of mussel seed, which in recent years has failed to meet industry demand, threatens the sustainability of aquaculture for this species, the most important within the sector. This shortage, driven by factors including the effects of climate change, underscores the urgent need to develop hatchery-based seed production methods. Genetic improvement programs enable the production of enhanced seed for traits of high commercial value, thereby addressing the key challenges faced by this industry. This project adopts an interdisciplinary approach, combining genetics, environmental monitoring and hydrodynamic modelling to develop sustainable hatchery-based seed production methods. The genetic improvement tools will focus on traits such as survival, growth, meat colour and byssus strength. Through heritability studies and large-scale genome-wide association analyses (GWAS), the research aims to identify genetic markers linked to these traits to produce enhanced seed in captivity, which can subsequently be cultivated in natural environments. Hydrodynamic modelling will simulate raft dynamics and evaluate the impact of oceanographic and physicochemical factors, such as water flow, temperature, salinity and food availability on mussel performance. By assessing the stability of these traits and the performance of mussels under natural farming conditions at CIM-UVigos monitored experimental raft, the project will examine the interaction between genetic and environmental factors in mussel growth and survival. Key objectives include optimizing seed fixation, improving mussel performance in farming systems and determining the optimal conditions for reliable and scalable seed production. The project outcomes will provide insights into how genetic improvement can be applied to mussel aquaculture, the interaction between genetic and environmental factors and the stability of enhanced traits in natural farming systems. These findings will aid in the development of mussel farming based on enhanced seed with desirable traits. Moreover, the results will complement and bolster the development of a planned spin-off company dedicated to hatchery-based mussel seed production, ensuring robust and scalable solutions for the Spanish aquaculture industry.