An Arithmetic Index Based on Shell Height, Length, and Width, for Potential Selection of Soft-Body Wet Weight in Pacific Oyster, Crassostrea gigas

The Pacific oyster, one of the most widely grown bivalves, has a long commercial history, a large consumer base, and is one of the most important commercially cultured mollusks in the world. Only the soft body is edible therefore increasing the soft-body wet weight (SBWW) is the main breeding objective for oysters. The SBWW cannot be measured in-vivo. In general, the shell height (H) or shell length (L) are used to indirectly choose SBWW. But they are diverse and susceptible to environmental influences so they are not indicative of higher SBWW and inappropriate for the selection of optimal brooders. In this study, H, L as well as shell width (W) of wild and cultured populations were measured and the correlation coefficients between H, L, W, HLW (the arithmetic index based on shell height, length and width) and SBWW were calculated and found to be potential indicators for selective breeding of SBWW in Pacific oyster.