Ensuring seed supply of commercially important bivalve species in Central Vietnam by optimizing the larval production

The project will support the Research Institute No3 in Nha Trang (Vietnam) in their endeavour to have a fully operational bivalve hatchery where seed of otterclam (Luthraria rhynchaena) and Portuguese oyster (Crassostrea angulata) will be produced, as an example for farmers who want to set-up their own hatchery and to supply farmers with good quality seed who want to specialize in grow-out activities of the selected species. Once the proper equipment is in place, the project will focus on the selection of nutritionally correct micro-algae that are easy to mass-culture under the local circumstances and on hatchery husbandry. The water quality for both the algae and larval production will be improved by using probiotica in a second phase of the project. Research skills of the RIA No3 staff will be uplifted by providing scholarships on PhD-level and MSc.-level and by hiring several experts to organizing relevant training sessions. Once the protocol for rearing the otterclam and the Portuguese oyster is established, major efforts will be put in the extension of this knowledge via the national network VIFINET, to interested farmers whose livelihood should improve by culturing these highly demanded species.