Manila Clam (Tapes philippinarum Adams & Reeve, 1852) in the Lagoon of Marano and Grado (Northern Adriatic Sea, Italy): Socio-Economic and Environmental Pathway of a Shell Farm - Aquaculture and the Environment: A Shared Destiny - page 52

In March 1983 the species was introduced in Italy in the Venice Lagoon (South Basin) by
purchasing the seed from an English hatchery (Breber, 1985) (Fig. 1).
Fig. 1. Introduction of Manila clam ( Tapes philippinarum ) in Italy (Zentilin et al., 2007)
The promising results and the interest shown by many in this new zooculture, led to the
spread of sowing in many transitional environments of Veneto (Lagoon of Venice, Lagoon
of Caorle and the Po River Delta) (Breber, 1985; Giorgiutti et al., 1999), Emilia Romagna
(Sacca di Goro and Sacca di Scardovari) (Paesanti, 1990; Milia, 1990), Friuli Venezia Giulia
(Lagoon of Marano and Grado) (Zentilin, 1987), Sardinia (Cottiglia et al.,1988), and Lazio
(Lake Sabaudia) (Di Marco et al., 1990). Following the large aquaculture hatchery based on
developments in Europe over the 1980s, natural reproduction resulted in a geographical
expansion of wild populations, particularly in Italy, France, and Ireland, where Japanese
carpet shells have proved to be hardier and faster growing than the endemic R. decussatus .
Consequently, R. philippinarum populations are now the major contributor to clam landings
in Europe, and are the focus of intensive public fisheries, competing with aquaculture
products in several rearing areas.
In these areas the species has acclimatized, reproduced and distributed at all sites, more
environmentally favorable. The colonization of new environments has been fast and that
makes the Manila clam the most economically important species.
The Manila clam ( Tapes philippinarum ) culture was preferred to that of the indigenous, Tapes
decussates due to high growth rate, less difficult in obtaining seed from controlled