1. Introduction
Marine cultivation has been identified as an economic and social
development alternative in many countries of the world (Ottolenghi,
Silvestri, Giordano, Lovatelli, & New, 2005). Chile is apt to develop mollusk
aquaculture because of its many estuaries and bays (Alcapán,
Néspolo, & Toro, 2007; Sánchez, 2002), especially in the southern coastal
zones of the country. It has become one of the largest bivalvemollusk
producers in Latin America. Of the commercially important mollusk
species for Chilean aquaculture, the Chilean blue mussel is of great economic
and gastronomic interest.