Suspended culture of oysters: Biological fouling control

Inadvertent entrapment of a rock crab Cancer irroratus in a tray of overwintering yearling European oysters resulted in a near-complete absence of fouling and siltation whereas all companion trays were heavily fouled with mussels and a deep silt layer. A controlled experiment confirmed that crabs of various sizes fed selectively on mussels. The use of crabs in fouling control would appear to have high potential in molluscan culture systems employing enclosed spaces.