Abstract Unwanted biofouling and predatory pests are a universal problem threatening aquaculture productivity and profitability. Various control approaches have been trialled, but industry uptake has been elusive due to the typically fine balance between pest and bivalve physiological tolerances (i.e., ‘therapeutic window’) and operational challenges related to infrastructure, scalability, and quality control. This study aimed to address these factors for acetic acid (AcOH), arguably the best-studied and most broadly applicable reactive treatment for bivalve aquaculture. Using case studies of farmed New Zealand green-lipped mussels (Perna canaliculus Gmelin 1791) and Pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas Thunberg 1793), AcOH tolerances of various size classes of these bivalves were determined in a series of laboratory experiments, and cross-referenced to corresponding data for biofouling and predatory pests. Resulting ‘therapeutic windows’ formed the basis of provisional treatment parameters, being 2% AcOH for 60 s or 4% AcOH for 30 s for P. canaliculus and C. gigas, respectively. Three independent field experiments on operational P. canaliculus and C. gigas farms subsequently served to refine and validate the treatment parameters and associated operational procedures. For P. canaliculus, AcOH treatment had overall positive impacts on commercially relevant measures of aquaculture production, with the best performing treatment regimens of 1% or 2% AcOH for 60 s resulting in almost three times as many individual P. canaliculus per section of growing rope. Incorporating a subsequent air-drying step was also shown to reduce required AcOH immersion times, providing opportunities to enhance operational efficiencies via more rapid treatments. The provisional treatment parameters for C. gigas of 4% AcOH for 30 s were also highly effective against biofouling pests in the field and resulted in no detectable mortality of the culture species. Overall, this study demonstrates the utility of carefully refined and validated AcOH treatments to control problematic pests in bivalve aquaculture. It is essential to accurately determine ‘therapeutic windows’ for any given bivalve culture species and developing understanding of crop-pest interactions would better inform treatment timing and frequency. Such approaches could feed into wider frameworks to optimally manage pests below economically damaging thresholds, with AcOH ideally being one option in an arsenal of management interventions.

中文翻译：

---

醋酸浸渍——双壳类水产养殖的活性害虫处理

摘要 有害生物污垢和掠食性害虫是威胁水产养殖生产力和盈利能力的普遍问题。已经尝试了各种控制方法，但由于害虫和双壳类动物生理耐受性（即“治疗窗口”）之间的典型平衡以及与基础设施、可扩展性和质量控制相关的操作挑战，行业吸收一直难以捉摸。本研究旨在解决醋酸 (AcOH) 的这些因素，醋酸可以说是双壳贝类水产养殖研究最深入、应用最广泛的反应性处理。使用养殖新西兰绿唇贻贝 (Perna canaliculus Gmelin 1791) 和太平洋牡蛎 (Crassostrea gigas Thunberg 1793) 的案例研究，在一系列实验室实验中确定了这些双壳类不同大小等级的 AcOH 耐受性，并与生物污垢和掠食性害虫的相应数据交叉引用。由此产生的“治疗窗口”构成了临时治疗参数的基础，分别是 2% AcOH 60 秒或 4% AcOH 30 秒，分别用于 P. canaliculus 和 C. gigas。随后在可操作的 P. canaliculus 和 C. gigas 农场进行了三个独立的田间试验，以改进和验证处理参数和相关的操作程序。对于 P. canaliculus，AcOH 处理对水产养殖生产的商业相关措施具有总体积极影响，1% 或 2% AcOH 持续 60 秒的最佳处理方案导致每个生长部分的个体 P. canaliculus 几乎是其三倍绳索。还显示结合随后的空气干燥步骤可以减少所需的 AcOH 浸泡时间，通过更快速的治疗提供提高运营效率的机会。4% AcOH 30 秒的 C. gigas 临时处理参数对田间生物污染害虫也非常有效，并导致养殖物种没有可检测到的死亡率。总体而言，这项研究证明了精心提炼和验证的 AcOH 处理在双壳类水产养殖中控制问题害虫的实用性。必须准确确定任何给定双壳类养殖物种的“治疗窗口”，并且深入了解作物-害虫相互作用将更好地告知治疗时间和频率。这些方法可以用于更广泛的框架，以最佳方式管理低于经济损害阈值的害虫，理想情况下，AcOH 是管理干预措施中的一种选择。