Towards whole life-stage naked clam aquaculture: integrating settlement, growth, and nutrition of Lyrodus pedicellatus

Abstract Rapidly growing global demand for nutrient-dense foods is currently testing planetary boundaries, while global food systems are failing to alleviate a persistent burden of malnutrition in human populations. Naked clams (Teredinidae) have recently emerged as a promising candidate to address these deficiencies, offering high-nutrient, low-environmental impact “blue food” production. While previous research demonstrated the viability of maintaining adult naked clams in modular systems, full life-cycle culture and quantified growth performance remained unexplored. This study evaluates the capacity of a modular, non-flow-through static-tank system to support the full development of the naked clam species Lyrodus pedicellatus from larval settlement to maturity. We quantified growth responses to a factorial combination of different wooden habitat structures (sheet vs. square dowel panels) and microencapsulated feed regimes (Biobullets). The results demonstrate that continuous dietary supplementation significantly enhances growth, with “full feed” individuals exhibiting significantly greater length and wet weight compared to no-feed controls, regardless of wood structure. Nutritional profiling revealed that L. pedicellatus possesses high concentrations of vitamin B12 (~ 70 µg g⁻ 1 dry weight) and beneficial fatty acids, including the neuroprotective nervonic acid (C24:1n9). Although absolute growth rates were lower than those observed in wild contexts, the tractability of L. pedicellatus —characterised by continuous breeding and rapid generation times—establishes it as an ideal model organism for aquaculture optimisation. These findings suggest that naked clam aquaculture may be feasible at commercial scale, opening a pathway for transforming lignocellulosic waste into functional, nutrient-dense protein within a circular bioeconomy.