Morphometric Relationship of Weight and Length of Cultured Freshwater Snail, Pomacea patula (Baker, 1922), at Three Different Life Stages

Snails from the genus Pomacea live in the floodplain of rivers, swamps, and in water canals used for irrigation in tropical zones of the American Continent (Banarescu 1990); they are amphibious and herbivorous, and present some biological characteristics to be suggested as potential species for culture (Mendoza et al. 2002; Ramnarine 2003). There are few snails that are commercially cultured in Trinidad and Guyana (Ramnarine 2004), and Peru (IIAP 2000). The apple snail, Pomacea patula, is an edible freshwater mollusk originating from Catemaco Lake (Veracruz, east coast of Mexico), where is locally considered a very important fishery resource but in the past decades catches have declined, almost depleted, mainly by overexploitation and environmental degradation (Gonzalez-Soriano et al. 1997). Nowadays, P. patula is also found in the midcoast of the Mexican Pacific since was introduced almost 30 yr ago (JaimeVargas 1992). Most of the information reported for this species is related to its basic biology and ecology (Naranjo-Garcia and GarciaCubas 1985; Martinez-Garcia 1989) and there are only few reports about its nutrition under controlled conditions (Asiain and Olguin 1995; Garcia-Ulloa et al. 2006). In spite of the economic interest in cultivation of freshwater snails for human consumption, there is a lack of basic information about the morphometric characteristics of the P. patula species. The application of morphometric relationships in P. patula could be a simple alternative to estimate body weight from length measurements at different stages of its life development. The present study analyzes the length–weight relationship of P. patula ranging in weight from 0.1 to 66 g when cultured in our lab during nursery, grow-out, and broodstock production phases. This knowledge may simplify management practices in the different culture phases of this species.