Molluscan and crustacean genetic and biotechnology interventions: A review

Abstract

Global demand for seafood products alone is projected to increase by 70 percent in the next 30 years as harvests from traditional capture fisheries either remain stable or continue to decline. At the same time, coastal marine ecosystems worldwide that support wild shellfisheries are threatened by pollution, habitat degradation, overharvesting and a growing  dependence on common pool-resources among other concerns, lending an increasingly important role for sustainably produced and managed shellfish resources to fill the widening gap in the world’s capacity for food production, hence the application of genetic technology. This paper then review the importance of genetics application in shellfisheries like species  identification, stock structure, mixed stock analysis, biomarkers for age, harvest rate and abundance, genetic diversity, detection of pathogens and invasive species among others. Various methods of genetic approach, challenges and strategies for promoting these genetic methods in Nigeria were also presented.

Keywords: Shellfish, Genetics, Economically importance, Mollusca, Crustacean, Nigeria