MODELING CARRYING CAPACITIES FOR BIVALVE MOLLUSCS IN OPEN, SUSPENDED‐CULTURE SYSTEMS

Abstract Standard accounting procedures in ecological energetics would approach the carrying capacity problem by attempting to quantify gross energy needs of a cultivated population and comparing these with “available” energy (seston) flow through the culture area. Inability to distinguish between “available” and “utilizable” particles is only one of several difficulties encountered in formulating energy budgets for large‐scale cultivation in natural waters, however. A model based on maintaining critical levels of particle flow through culture areas is offered as an alternative. This approach reduces the problem to terms which are easier to obtain than those involved in equations of energy flow. Application of the model depends on a priori knowledge that seasonal patterns in seston composition and other environmental conditions are conducive to growth of the cultivated species.