|
With regard to disease, a massive mortality widely struck European flat oyster populations in 1920. The population later recovered but was replaced by cupped oysters in several traditional rearing areas. Then, two diseases (Marteilia refringens and Bonamia ostrea) spread in the early 1970s and 1980s, drastically reducing the production of O. edulis in almost all European traditional rearing areas. Despite new management practices, and intensive repletion programmes, the production of O. edulis has remained low since that time.
|