Clam, cockle and oyster resources of the Indian coasts

Alagarswami, K and Narasimham, K A (1973) Clam, cockle and oyster resources of the Indian coasts. In: Proceedings of the symposium on living resources of the seas around India, 1968, Mandapam Camp.

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Abstract

India, faced with the problem of food shortage as it is, has, since two decades, been systematically investigating and harvesting the resources of the seas around her with a view to augmentirg her feed prccuciicr. Eut the emphasis laid has been mostly on fishes, and themolluscan shellfish, in general, ha^e not been given due attention. Besides forming food, the molluscs are a useful source in mfK.i g lirre, ircrUr £r.d cement for the house building industry and as ornaments and curios. This is a source where relatively little investment cait bring in high returns. Among the edible molluscs, clams and oysters abound our coasts. Though the biology of species like Crassostrea madrasensis, C. gryphoides, Meretrix meretiix, M. casta, Katelysia opima, K. marmorata, Solen kempi, Donax cuneatus, D. faba, Gafrarium tumidum, Anadara granosa and a few others has been studied from different areas data on the exploited and poleniial resources have not been adequately obtained. In the present paper the distribution of clam, cockle and oyster resources of the Indian coasts, including the estuaries and backwaters, based on a survey conducted along the east end west coasts and the published data has been dealt with. The present level of harvesting is given and the scope for future exploitation is indicated. The need for starting systematic culture of these species as well as simple transplantation to bring new areas into production is stressed. The need for educating the public on the food value of the molluscs is also pointed out. This article cannot be said to cover all the above aspects in great detail but it attempts to highlight the importance of the edible bivalve resources in the present situation.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Clam; cockle; oyster; India
Subjects:	Molluscan Fisheries > Edible oyster Molluscan Fisheries > Clam
Divisions:	CMFRI-Kochi > Marine Capture > Molluscan Fisheries Division Subject Area > CMFRI > CMFRI-Kochi > Marine Capture > Molluscan Fisheries Division CMFRI-Kochi > Marine Capture > Molluscan Fisheries Division Subject Area > CMFRI-Kochi > Marine Capture > Molluscan Fisheries Division
Depositing User:	Dr. V Mohan
Date Deposited:	31 Aug 2010 06:23
Last Modified:	09 Sep 2015 15:19
URI:	http://eprints.cmfri.org.in/id/eprint/2760

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