Seasonal Dynamics in Gross Biochemical Composition of Asiatic Hard Clam, Meretrix meretrix Collected from the West Coast of Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh

The study aimed to evaluate the seasonal dynamics ingross biochemical compositions of Asiatic hard clam (Meretrix meretrix) collectedmonthly from the west coast ofCox's Bazar, Bangladesh fromJuly2018 to June 2019. The proportion of crude protein, crude lipids, carbohydrates, ash, crude fiber and moisture contents of the clam varied from 10.81 to 15.56%, 0.45 to 3.99%, 0.26 to 5.88%, 0.88 to 2.85%, 0.26 to 1.96% and 72.63 to 82.70% respectively on wet weight basis. Biochemical analysis revealed remarkable temporal variations in the percentage of biochemical components of the species. Pearson’s product-moment correlation coefficient indicated that water quality parameters (temperature, salinity and pH) and biochemical compositions of M. meretrix had different levels of correlations among themselves.Protein and fiber contents were moderately positively correlated with pH (r = 0.515 and 0.495 respectively) but moisture content was moderately negatively correlated with pH (r = -0.484). Protein exhibited strongpositive correlation with ash content (r = 0.856) and strong negative correlation with carbohydrates (r = -0.800). Moderate positive correlation was found between protein and lipid (r = 0.596). Protein, lipid, ash and fiber contents had moderate negative correlations with moisture content (r = -0.542, -0.641, -0.503 and -0.423 respectively). Overall, the study revealedthat Asian hard clam is an excellent source of several nutrients and the information furnished could be useful to the fishery managers for harvesting and marketing of M. meretrix in a particular season of the year based on the consumers’ specifications.