Salinity of 30–35 psu had no observable effect on growth, condition, food consumption or survival of king scallop spat at the range of temperatures tested (Table 3). Usually, cultivation sites are chosen at which salinity varies within this range and where these salinity conditions prevail, it is temperature that is generally considered to be the most important factor affecting the performance of the spat (Wilson, 1987; Chauvaud et al., 1998, Laing, 2000). The growth rates achieved at 30–35 psu at the range of temperatures used in these experiments (Tables 1 and 3) were consistent with these previous findings. It should be noted, however, that the experiments were designed solely to examine the response to salinity, and do not address any potential interactive or synergistic effects with temperature.