Open AccessArticle
Recruitment and Controlled Growth of Juveniles of the Critically Endangered Fan Mussel Pinna nobilis in the Northern Adriatic
by
Valentina Pitacco, Domen Trkov, Daniela Caracciolo, Saul Ciriaco, Marco Segarich, Edoardo Batistini, Martina Orlando-Bonaca, Lovrenc Lipej, Borut Mavrič, Manja Rogelja, Ilenia Azzena, Chiara Locci, Fabio Scarpa, Daria Sanna, Marco Casu, Chiara Manfrin, Alberto Pallavicini and Ana Fortič
Diversity 2025, 17(10), 666; https://doi.org/10.3390/d17100666 (registering DOI) - 23 Sep 2025
Abstract
The fan mussel
Pinna nobilis is the largest bivalve species in the Mediterranean Sea and provides numerous ecosystem services. It is classified as critically endangered by IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) due to severe mass mortality events throughout the Mediterranean. The
[...] Read more.
The fan mussel
Pinna nobilis is the largest bivalve species in the Mediterranean Sea and provides numerous ecosystem services. It is classified as critically endangered by IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) due to severe mass mortality events throughout the Mediterranean. The aims of this work are as follows: (i) to assess the current recruitment potential of the species, (ii) to enhance recruitment by keeping juveniles in controlled conditions before releasing them back into the sea, and (iii) to assess the health status of recruits. In the period 2022−2023, larval collectors were set up in the Gulf of Trieste as part of the LIFE Pinna project. The collected individuals were kept in aquaria in two different facilities under different conditions: (a) a closed system with constant water temperature, live phytoplankton, and commercial food and (b) an open system with ambient seawater temperature and commercial food. A clear temporal and spatial variability in recruitment was observed: 13 recruits were found in 2022 and 50 recruits in 2023. The live specimens were between 0.5 and 8 cm in size upon collection and larger in 2023. The growth and survival rate did not differ significantly between the two systems, but the average monthly growth and survival rate were related to the initial size of the juveniles.
Full article
