Introduction

Mollusc farming or the culture of marine bivalves is the oldest form of aquaculture. However, it was not until the end of the nineteenth century that the reliable techniques which allowed the rapid growth of the industry were developed. A new leap has been made, around a century later: this has been the development of the hatchery for the production of spat. On top of this, overexploitation of wild stocks has caused the fishermen to consider management of the resource and to look to restocking and culture in deep water using juveniles originating in the hatchery.