Water temperature modulation to prevent the South American rock mussel (Perna perna) from spawning during depuration
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1590/Keywords:
Condition index, Meat yield, Mollusks, PurificationAbstract
Sewage pollution is an increasing problem for Perna perna mussel farmers in Brazil, and there is an urgent
need to adopt post-harvest treatments, such as depuration, to reduce the associated microbiological risks.
However, depuration of this species has been discouraged by experiences showing that the animals usually
spawn during this procedure, bringing difficulties for water treatment and making them lighter, weakened, and
undesirable to be traded as a live product. This study aimed at developing a protocol to prevent mussels from
spawning by modulating the water temperature during depuration. For one year (from 2021-07-07 to 2022-
06-29), market-size mussels harvested from the Brazilian southern coast were divided into groups of five and
immersed during 50 hours in sets of experimental units (15 L acrylic aquariums) that emulated depuration
tanks with different water temperatures (ranging from 8°C to 31°C). During this period, the experimental units
were inspected nine times to check for spawning/spawned mussels. Analysis of the overall results showed
that 21 (95.5%) out of the 22 assays resulted in mussels spawning and that this behavior was mostly recorded
(80.3%) within the first 5:30 hours of the assays. The models developed (binary logistic regression) indicate
that conditioning the depuration water to temperatures 5°C lower than those registered at the harvest site holds
the potential to reduce the chances of spawning by more than 50%, and these chances drop to 8.2% when this
difference reaches 10°C. Further studies are needed to show how reducing water temperature during depuration
influences its efficiency in terms of pathogen reduction, aiming to define the best protocol to optimize microbial
removal and minimize spawning.
References
Butt, A. A., Aldridge, K. E. & Sanders, C. V. 2004. Infections
related to the ingestion of seafood Part I: Viral and
bacterial infections. The Lancet. Infectious Diseases,
, 201-212. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S1473-
(04)00969-7.
CIDASC. (Defesa Sanitária Animal). 2022, 4 April.
Resultados das Análises Microbiológicas em Moluscos
Bivalves Mapa de Situação Microbiológica. Available
at: http://www.cidasc.sc.gov.br/defesasanitariaanimal/
resultado-de-analise-microbiologica/. Access date:
April 2022.
De Bravo, M. I. S., Chung, K. S. & Pérez, J. E. 1998.
Salinity and temperature tolerances of the green and
brown mussels, Perna viridis and Perna perna (Bivalvia:
Mytilidae). Revista de Biologia Tropical, 46, 121-125.
De Souza, R. V., Rupp, G. S., De Campos, C. J. A. &
Lee, R. 2014. Moluscos bivalves: medidas de controle
microbiológico para atender às exigências da União
Europeia. Florianópolis, Epagri.
De Souza, R. V., De Campos, C. J. A., Garbossa, L.
H. P., Vianna, L. F. De N., Vanz, A., Rupp, G. S. &
Seiffert, W. 2018. A critical analysis of the international
legal framework regulating the microbiological
classification of bivalve shellfish production areas.
Reviews in Aquaculture, 10, 1025-1033. DOI: https://
doi.org/10.1111/raq.12222.
De Souza, R. V., Moresco, V., Miotto, M., Souza, D. S. M. &
De Campos, C. J. A. 2022a. Prevalence, distribution
and environmental effects on faecal indicator bacteria
and pathogens of concern in commercial shellfish
production areas in a subtropical region of a developing
country (Santa Catarina, Brazil). Environmental
Monitoring and Assessment, 194, 286. DOI: https://doi.
org/10.1007/s10661-022-09950-5.
De Souza, R. V., Moresco, V., Miotto, M.,
Souza, D. S. M., Campos, C. & Suplicy, F. M. 2022b.
Depuração e tratamento térmico para redução dos níveis
de patógenos em moluscos bivalves produzidos em
Santa Catarina, Brasil. Agropecuária Catarinense, 35,
-82. DOI: https://doi.org/10.52945/rac.v35i2.1351
FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of United Nations)
& WHO (World Health Organization). 2018. Technical
guidance for the development of the growing area
aspects of bivalve mollusc sanitation programmes.
Rome, FAO: WHO.
Guimarães Filho, C. E. F., Calixto, F. A. A., Kasnowski, M. C. &
Mesquita, E. F. M. 2022. Analysis of microbiological
contaminants in mussel Perna perna (Linnaeus, 1758),
before and after depuration, from mariculture of the
lowland coast, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Food Science and
Technology, 42. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1590/fst.64121.
Lees, D., Younger, A. & Doré, B. Depuration and relaying.
In: Rees, G., Pond, K., Kay, D., Bartram, J. & Santo
Domingo, J. (eds.). Safe Management of Shellfish and
Harvest Waters. Geneva: World Health Organization;
London: IWA Publishing.
Lee, R., Lovatelli, A. & Ababouch, L. 2008. Bivalve
depuration: fundamental and practice aspects (FAO
Fisheries Technical Paper, No. 511). Rome, FAO.
Lees, D. 2000. Viruses and bivalve shellfish. International
Journal of Food Microbiology, 59, 81-116. DOI: https://
doi.org/10.1016/S0168-1605(00)00248-8.
Luneta, J. E. 1969. Fisiologia da reprodução de mexilhões
Mytilus perna L. (Mollusca: Lamellibranchia). Boletim
da Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras da
Universidade de São Paulo. Zoologia e Biologia
Marinha, 26, 33-111.
Power, U. F. & Collins, J. K. 1989. Differential depuration
of Poliovirus, Escherichia coli, and a coliphage by
the common mussel, Mytilus edulis. Applied and
Environmental Microbiology, 55, 1386-1390.
Rees, G., Pond, K., Kay, D., Bartram, J. & Domingo, J. S.
(eds.). 2010. Safe Management of Shellfish and Harvest
Waters. London, World Health Organization.
Reddy, N. A. & Menon, N. R. 1979. Effects of ammonia and
ammonium on tolerance and byssogenesis in Perna
viridis. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 1, 315-321.
Richards, G. P. 1988. Microbial purification of shellfish:
A review of depuration and relaying. Journal of Food
Protection, 51, 218-251.
Seed, R. & Suchanek, T. 1992. Population and community
ecology of Mytilus. In: Gosling, E. (ed.) The Mussel
Mytilus: Ecology, Physiology, Genetics and Culture.
San Diego: Elsevier.
Silvestri, F., Cordeiro, G. B. & Costa, P. M. S. 2018.
Parâmetros reprodutivos do mexilhão Perna perna
(L. 1758) em fazendas marinhas na Ilha Grande (RJ).
Acta of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, 6, 43-49.
Suplicy, F. M. 1999. Depuração do mexilhão Perna perna
(L. 1758). In: Oceanos: Fonte de Alimentos. Prêmio
Jovem Cientista 1997. Brasília, DF: CNPq, Fundação
Roberto Marinho, Grupo Gerdau.
Suplicy, F. M. (Org.). 2019. Plano Estratégico para
o Desenvolvimento Sustentável da Maricultura
Catarinense (2018-2028). Florianópolis, Epagri.
UK Food Standards Agency, 2016. Guidance for Local
Authority Authorized Officers on the Inspection of
Purification Systems for Live Bivalve Mollusks in
England Wales and Northern Ireland. London: UK Food
Standard Agency.
Zardi, G. I., Mcquaid, C. D., Teske, P. R. & Barker, N. P. 2007.
Unexpected genetic structure of mussel populations
in South Africa: Indigenous Perna perna and invasive
Mytilus galloprovincialis. Marine Ecology Progress
Series, 337, 135-144. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/
meps337135.
Zippay, M. L. & Helmuth, B. 2012. Effects of temperature change
on mussel, Mytilus. Integrative Zoology, 7, 312-327.
