Geoduck clams (Panopea generosa) are an increasingly important fishery and aquaculture product along the eastern Pacific coast from Baja California, Mexico, to Alaska. These long-lived clams are highly fecund, although sustainable hatchery production of genetically diverse larvae is hindered by the lack of sexual dimorphism, resulting in asynchronous spawning of broodstock, unequal sex ratios, and low numbers of breeders. The development of assays of gonad physiology could indicate sex and maturation stage as well as be used to assess the status of natural populations.
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