Shellfish Seed: 17 MCQs with answers

West coast

The west coast of India constitutes 80% of shrimp production.

East coast

The seeds of P. indicus are abundant mainly in the east coast.

Scylla serrata

The east coast of India has got wider distribution of S. serrata seeds than west coast.

Sonapur deltas of Godavari and Krishna

The spats of Crassostrea madarasensis are abundant in Sonapur deltas of Godavari and Krishna, Gokulapalli, Pulicat, Ennore, Madras, Cuddalore, Porto Novo, Athankarai, Kanchangudi near Mandapam, Kerala and Port Blair.

Night high tides, especially in full moon and new moon days

The seeds of shrimps are invariably abundant during the night high tides, especially in full moon and new moon days.

True

P. monodon seeds are available throughout Indian coasts round the year; however, this species has wider distribution in west coast than in east coast.

False

The spats of Perna viridis (green mussel) are found all along the east and west coasts of India.

Penaeus monodon

Among the different species, seeds of P. monodon have wider tolerance to salinity (5-30 ppt).

Penaeus semisulcatus

P. semisulcatus has a restricted distribution (Tamil Nadu and Andhra coast).

Cochin backwaters

In the west coast, the seeds of S. serrata are available only in Cochin backwaters.

10-20 m

During spawning, lobsters migrate to deeper waters of 10-20 m.

November-December

Individual Panulirus homarus breeds only once in a year and although it has a prolonged breeding period, the peak is during November-December.

15 m

These spats are found attached to rocks, pilings and other hard objects from intertidal zone to a depth of 15 m.

Varkalai near Quilon to Cape Comorin and Cape Comorin to Tiruchendur

The spats of P. indica are abundant at Varkalai near Quilon to Cape Comorin in southwest coast and Cape Comorin to Tiruchendur in southeast coast.

Tidal amplitude, temperature, salinity

Factors such as tidal amplitude, temperature, salinity, river discharge, rains, current, water depth, substratum, suspended matter, plankton, seasons, lunar and diurnal cycles, mangroves, mud banks and pollution influence the abundance of shrimp seeds.

Hooghly-Matla estuary, Chilka lake, Kakinada bay

Brackishwater areas of India such as Hooghly-Matla estuary, Chilka lake, Kakinada bay, Godavary estuary, Pulicat lake, Adyar and Vellar estuaries; Kerala backwaters, Kayamkulam lake and Korapuzha estuary, and estuaries and coastal waters of Goa are known for rich shrimp seed resources suitable for aquaculture.

Dearth of pearl oyster beds in areas of abundance like Tuticorin

Due to the dearth of pearl oyster beds in areas of abundance like Tuticorin, the seed resources of P. fucata are reported to be scanty.