Captive rearing of larvae of the Dublin Bay prawn Nephrops norvegicus (L)

Abstract

Wild caught Nephrops larvae were maintained in aquaria for as long as possible, in 1969, 1970 and 1971 together with a few which were hatched in the laboratory in 1971. Experiments were conducted at temperature ranges of 16°0 to 22°C and 11°C to 13 °C; the latter range is close to the ambient temperature of larvae in the sea. Direct observations, were obtained of the duration of all stages from first larval to third post larval (six successive stages in all), though percentage survival rates were rather low in some groups.