Marine scientists at the University of Corsica say they have mastered the reproduction of the giant limpet as part of a ten-year research programme on vulnerable species.
This could “pave the way for a large-scale ecological restoration” in the Mediterranean Sea, they suggest.
The giant limpet, Patella Ferruginea, is one of the Mediterranean’s most endangered marine species.
Engineers and scientists of at the University of Corsica’s Stella Mare research centre began working on hatchery-reared juveniles late last year.
“The first larval rearing experiments initiated in 2022 were successful,” they state.
“Indeed, the hatchery team managed to overcome the artificial reproduction of this species and obtained 72 juveniles. Those are currently on-grown inside the Corsican labs,” they say.
“To date, only two research teams in the world (led by the same scientist) have managed to obtain a few juveniles with very limited survival,” they say.
The main challenge involved collecting healthy and mature limpets able to spawn as the species has almost completely disappeared on the Mediterranean coast. Inducing spawning in captivity and feeding at the juvenile stage also proved complex, they say.
Giant limpets were once abundant on the Mediterranean centuries ago, but now only survive in a small number of areas on the Andalusian and north African coasts, as well as some “hotspots” in Corsica and Sardinia. The population has increased in Corsica, which suggests the island has a supply of “healthy spawners”, the scientists say.
The University of Corsica has issued a fundraising campaign for scientific research, and says an experimental restoration of giant limpet populations in the port of Bastia in northern Corsica will begin next year.