New Zealand’s Pacific oysters die in large numbers

Millions of Pacific oysters are dying in New Zealand waters, scientist are puzzled, up to half the juvenile Pacific oysters stocks in the North Island are thought to have died and up to ten percent of adults. Aquaculture New Zealand said up to 80 per cent of juvenile oysters on some farms have died.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) have called on animal health experts for scientific opinion on the widespread die offs of the Pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas). Acting on a request from the European Commission, the EFSA has specifically asked whether the juvenile stocks may have been killed off by a combination of a herpes-like virus - Ostreid Herpesvirus-1 (OsHV-1) - and environmental factors. Read more...


This blog is written by Martin Little The Aquaculturists, published and supported by the International Aquafeed Magazine from Perendale Publishers.