Reusable plastic rearing panel applicable to aquaculture

摘要

A reusable plastic rearing panel applicable to aquaculture comprises a molded plastic panel having a plurality of recesses therein for nurturing and rearing rock scallops and other filter feeding bivalve mollusks with similar habits from juvenile stages to marketable adult size. At the bottom and sides of the recesses are defined perforations for relief permitting attachment of the contained bivalve by the bivalve's cementation. The recesses in the panels are covered by mesh to contain and protect the shellfish and to afford at the same time opportunities for feeding on waterborne sources of nutrition, such as natural plankton. The meshing is removably attached so that after affixation of the shellfish to the recess, it may be removed; alternatively, the mesh is fabricated of material which naturally disintegrates under the chemical and physical conditions in which the panels are utilized. To augment attachment of the shellfish to the recesses, a line is tied through two of the perforations in bottoms of the recesses so that as the shellfish grows, shell material is deposited around the line until it is incorporated securely in the shell. Use of such a line affords the capability of employing the invention in connection with rearing shellfish which do not cement to firm substrates. Pluralities of panels may be arrayed vertically or horizontally in an aquatic environment and may be attached to pilings or secured by buoys.