The 1 st International Oyster Symposium Proceedings History, Status and Future of Oyster Culture in France SUMMARY

• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Crassostrea gigas
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.105.6149; http://www.kakiken.or.jp/sympo/proceeding_pdf/No.20.pdf

The history of oyster culture in France consists of a succession of development phases with different species, followed by collapses caused by diseases. The indigenous species Ostrea edulis was replaced fi rst with Crassostrea angulata, then Crassostrea gigas. France is now the top producer and consumer of oysters in Europe, producing around 130,000 tonnes of the cupped oyster C. gigas annually and a remaining 1,500 tonnes of the fl at oyster O. edulis. Cupped oysters are produced all along the French coast from natural (80%) and hatchery spat. Various structures are used to collect spat from the wild. After a growing-on period, oysters can be cultivated by three main methods: (i) on-bottom culture in the intertidal zone or in deep water; (ii) off-bottom culture in plastic mesh bags in the intertidal zone; or (iii) suspended culture on ropes in the open sea. The principal development that has taken place in culture techniques is the use of oysters produced in hatcheries, especially triploids. Almost all French oyster production is sold fresh and eaten raw straight from the shell. There is a strong seasonality in sales, with the most being made during the Christmas and New Year period. The abundant production and the lack of market organisation induce strong competition between the different production areas, causing prices to fall. In order to overcome this difficulty, oyster farmers have developed strategies of sales promotion and regional quality labelling. The hazards of production are numerous: environmental crises (microbiological pollution, toxic microalgae), unexplained mortality, overstocking etc. Recently, new problems with toxic algae have disrupted oyster sales. However, French oyster culture has many assets. These include a coastal environment offering favourable sites for mollusc growth and reproduction. Oysters have been consumed in France since ancient times and their culture is now well established with a concession system that favours