The rayed pearl oyster Pinctada imbricata radiata (Leach 1814) has been present in the Hellenic waters (Aegean Sea) from ate leats the early 1960s. However, up to today the species has been reported from the Ionian Sea only at the island of Kefalonia. Live and dead animals (shells) were collected from the central and northern part of western Greece throughout 2016. The species has been established particularly in the coastal area of Thesprotia, which is the most north-western continental area of Greece, suggesting that Ionian Sea is the main corridor for natural (i.e. via currents) and human-mediated (i.e. maritime transport) range expansion to the Adriatic Sea and central Mediterranean. Moreover, the species shows significant abundance of both spat and adult specimens attached to fish farm cages nets. These findings coupled with the current distribution of the species in the Hellenic seas, indicate that the rayed pearl oyster has strong invasion potential, it is locally adapted and increasingly spreading in the Ionian Sea.

The purpose of this project is to highlight this species as a "lucrative catch". It is of paramount importance to specify the minimum standards for the sustainable management of the existing fishing grounds for the exploitation of Pinctada imbricata radiata. Furthermore, our aim is to support the creation of the necessary institutional framework of the existing scattered resources in order to eliminate the "legislative gap" leading to illegal shackling with all the accompanying consequences.

The main target of project is also to create added value with the production of new products - easy to use in the supply chain and friendly to the consumer and the environment. The determination of the nutritional value, life time, organoleptic and flavor characteristics of new products based on oysterocene biomass is essential to support them in the market. The opinion of the supply chain on the existing disposal channels as well as consumers, will shape the final options for the ending formulation of the new innovative products.

The project “Commercial exploitation of the pearl oyster Pinctada imbricata radiata by adding value through the development of processed products (Code MIS: 5010850) funded by the “Innovation in Fisheries” EU-Greece Operational Program of Fisheries, EPAL 2014-2020”.