From the laboratory in Camogli to a reef in the Marine Protected Area of Capo Mortola, in the province of Imperia. This was the journey recently undertaken by six individuals of Pinna nobilis, thanks to researchers from the University of Genoa and Shoreline. These specimens had been raised for several months in the biologists’ tanks in an attempt to initiate captive breeding. After molecular analyses conducted by the University of Sassari, as required by the LIFE Pinna protocol, which confirmed the absence of potentially dangerous pathogenic organisms in the clams, particularly the protozoan Haplosporidium pinnae, the green light was given for the transplant of the six specimens. The transplant was carried out under good visibility conditions in a meadow of Posidonia oceanica, the ideal habitat for the largest bivalve mollusk in the Mediterranean. The researchers protected the clams with cages that will serve the dual purpose of facilitating the retrieval of the specimens during subsequent monitoring and providing them shelter from potential anchor damage. Periodic monitoring will begin in the coming weeks.

Photo credits: Saul Ciriaco – Shoreline