| Summary: | The present study is carried out in Kilya Bay (in the Dardanelles) between February 2002 and February 2004. The purpose of this study was to determine the most suitable collector material, time to collect mussel seed, and the growth rate. In the first three months of the study, different collector materials (net rope, polypropylene rope, sisal rope, and jute rope) were deployed in the water column. Spat recruitment was not varied between collector materials (p>0.05). When resistance of ropes were compared against the effects of water, it was found that net rope was most suitable for the mussel seed collection. Net collectors were deployed in February, March, April, May, June, and January. Mussel spat settlement was observed throughout the study, however between collectors, spat attachment was significantly different between months (p<0.05). The higher attachment period was observed in February and April. These results showed that mussel reproduction period was all year round and first attachment individuals reached marketable (<50 mm) size in 1.5 year.
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