Gametogenic cycle and size at first maturity of the Patagonic edible snail Buccinanops cochlidium from Argentina

Buccinanops cochlidium is a common edible snail from Argentinean shallow waters, which is being consumed locally in north Patagonia. Nevertheless, there are no policies for their fisheries management. This study provides information about the reproductive cycle and size at first maturity of B. cochlidium from San José Gulf, Argentina. In this species, the testes seemed to develop mature sperm all year round without a resting period although resorption was registered after periods of high evacuation (June–November). The occurrence of parasperm in a nassariid species is reported for the first time in this study. Females showed a clear seasonality, without a resting period, and proliferation of oogonia throughout the year. Evacuation of mature oocytes measuring over 220 μm occurred mainly in October. Oocyte evacuation was associated with minimum seawater temperature and increasing daylength. Males developed a penis of functional size and mature gametes in their testes at 37 mm in shell length (SL) but only began to mate at 65 mm in SL. Females matured at 80 mm in SL, considering gonad maturity, mating behaviour and oviposition altogether. Female SL at first gonadal maturity is close to the male maximum SL. The present results are useful when planning fishery policies aiming to prevent the overexploitation of the resource, if an extensive fishery targeting on this species is developed. In case of this, we propose a fishery based on an artisanal diving collection of individuals over 82 mm in SL, and avoiding to catch gravid females.