Use of shell shape variation as an assessment tool in thesouthernmost razor clam fishery.

MÁRQUEZ, FEDERICO; TRIVELLINI, MARÍA MAGDALENA; VAN DER MOLEN, SILVINA

FISHERIES RESEARCH

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2017 vol. 186 p. 216 - 222

0165-7836

tMorphological variation provides a method for phenotypic stock differentiation at inter- and intra-specific levels. Various methods are used for the assessment of fishery stocks in mollusks; one of them isgeometric morphometrics. We analyzed morphological variation in razor clams at ten fishing grounds,five from the Argentinean North Patagonian gulfs and five from Chile, and evaluated the occurrence ofphenotypic stocks between Argentinean and Chilean fisheries, using geometric morphometrics methods.The Argentinean harvesting of Ensis macha is emerging, and represents a way to diversify the shell-fisheries in north Patagonia. Nevertheless, fishing and aquaculture play important roles for the Chileaneconomy. Various multivariate methods were applied to describe the differences among and betweenfishing grounds. We found significant differences in the average shell shape of individuals from eitherocean, and these differences principally describe changes in the robustness of the shell. The average shellshapes differed among sites from the Pacific while those from the Atlantic Ocean did not show statisticaldifferences. This study shows that geometric morphometric techniques are appropriate for the identifi-cation of phenotypic stocks in E. macha. Our results could be used for future resource management andto determine the origin of the product in razor clams from South America.