| The reproduction effort in Crassostrea gigas, as in most bivalve molluscs, has priority over their somatic growth. At the beginning of spring, the energetic metabolic processes are geared towards gametogenesis over glucidic stocks, thus inducing a slowing down of the growth and a change in the organoleptic qualities of the flesh (Héral & Deslous-Paoli, 1983). The same authors showed that this effort increases along with age (figure 1). In young one-year-old oysters, the energy is mostly burnt in growth, only 18 % is involved in reproduction, whereas in two-year-old oysters, 60 to 65 % of the energy is used for gamete formation (Deslous-Paoli & Héral, 1983). In order to limit the impact of gonadogenesis and to try and re-orientate this energy flux... |
