Population Dynamics of the New Zealand Geoduck, Panopea zelandica, in Golden Bay, New Zealand

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aut.embargoNoen_NZ
aut.thirdpc.containsNoen_NZ
dc.contributor.advisorWhite, Lindsey
dc.contributor.advisorSabetian, Armagan
dc.contributor.authorSlater, Adam
dc.date.accessioned2019-05-13T20:24:14Z
dc.date.available2019-05-13T20:24:14Z
dc.date.copyright2019
dc.date.issued2019
dc.date.updated2019-05-13T06:26:16Z
dc.description.abstractGeoduck (genus Panopea) are a large and commercially significant marine clam in the phylum Mollusca, which are distributed throughout the world with Panopea zelandica being found in New Zealand (Quoy & Gaimard, 1835). Aquaculture NZ set a target of $1 billion by the year 2025 (Aquaculture NZ, 2005) and Panopea zelandica is one of two species identified to achieve this goal. Advancement and expansion of the existing geoduck fishery are obviously instrumental in achieving this target and hence there must be a more thorough understanding of population dynamics, stock structure, and potential effects of harvesting upon a population (Gribben & Heasman, 2015) to create a sustainable growth in the P. zelandica fishery. Despite the comparatively large amount of literature available on farmed and hatchery-raised geoduck in NZ, information and studies performed on wild Panopea zelandica remain relatively sparse. It was the goal of this thesis to investigate stock structure, harvesting efficiency and components of productivity of Panopea zelandica in the Collingwood area of FMA7. Water depth was the strongest predictor of geoduck density as well as a highly significant association (p-value = 0.00038) between grain size and density. We found a normally distributed group of size classes and our ages ranged from 4 to 33 years old. We found an estimated instantaneous mortality (Z) of 0.209 with an Linf of 127.5mm and a growth rate (k) of 0.110. We found a total [effectively virgin] parent biomass of 1,334kg with an average density of 0.062km/m2 and a CV of 0.205 and found show-factors of 15.9 to 30.8% sensu Gribben, Helson & Millar (2004). Our results were broadly comparable with previous studies. Future research could investigate sex ratios and the effect of protandric development on population harvesting as well as the effect of sediment type on siphon colour, the implementation of crossdating and perhaps investigating the viability of SONAR technology into biomass surveys. This thesis has contributed to the overall understanding of population dynamics, stock structure and other components of the P. zelandica identified by previous publications as being important focal points for research as well as outlining possibilities for future work.en_NZ
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10292/12508
dc.language.isoenen_NZ
dc.publisherAuckland University of Technology
dc.rights.accessrightsOpenAccess
dc.subjectGeoducken_NZ
dc.subjectPanopeaen_NZ
dc.subjectPopulation dynamicsen_NZ
dc.subjectFisheries managementen_NZ
dc.subjectGeoducen_NZ
dc.subjectPopulation abundanceen_NZ
dc.subjectPopulation estimateen_NZ
dc.subjectDensityen_NZ
dc.subjectVBGMen_NZ
dc.subjectRecruitmenten_NZ
dc.subjectSediment characteristicsen_NZ
dc.subjectSedimenten_NZ
dc.subjectProductivity componentsen_NZ
dc.subjectProductivityen_NZ
dc.subjectProtandryen_NZ
dc.subjectPanopea zelandicaen_NZ
dc.subjectStock structureen_NZ
dc.subjectHiatellidaeen_NZ
dc.subjectMolluscaen_NZ
dc.subjectBivalviaen_NZ
dc.subjectBivalvesen_NZ
dc.subjectMarineen_NZ
dc.subjectClamen_NZ
dc.subjectDiver efficiencyen_NZ
dc.subjectShow-factoren_NZ
dc.titlePopulation Dynamics of the New Zealand Geoduck, Panopea zelandica, in Golden Bay, New Zealanden_NZ
dc.typeThesisen_NZ
thesis.degree.grantorAuckland University of Technology
thesis.degree.levelMasters Theses
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Applied Scienceen_NZ
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