Virus wipes out Christmas oysters
Producers ask for government aid after millions are killed by virus for the second year running
OYSTER producers have warned they face going bust after millions of shellfish were wiped out by a virus for the second year running.
The illness has hit between 50% and 80% of young oysters, depending on the area, that were destined to be eaten in Christmas 2010.
The problems are believed to have begun on the Mediterranean coast in the Languedoc in April and have since spread to the Atlantic coast, as far north as Normandy.
Last year, the government gave an €184 million bailout to the industry to cover its losses after the summer virus killed between 40% and 100% of young oysters in certain areas.
Jacques Sourbier, who runs the Loire branch of oyster producers’ organisation the Section Régionale Conchylicole, said it had asked for a similar level of aid this year.
“The phenomenon seems just as serious and worrying as last year,” he told AFP.
“Businesses can more or less make good their losses for a year of high death rates, but two years running is not possible.”
Researchers at sea science body Ifremer are carrying out tests and expect to report back by the end of next week.
Oysters are a popular Christmas dish in France. The country is the biggest oyster producer in Europe, selling 130,000 tonnes a year.
Last year’s deaths will hit oyster supplies this Christmas.
Photo: Clgregor
