oyster herpes

Special Permits for Oyster Farmers Hit by Virus

New Zealand – Special permits can now be issued to some oyster farmers whose businesses have been affected by the oyster herpes virus to gather wild (feral) Pacific oysters, which will come as a great relief to the local oyster industry.

Mike Sabin, MP for Northland commented: “I have had a number of meetings with Northland oyster farmers over the past 18 months and have a great deal of empathy for their plight, with this virus devastating their spawning stock and putting the industry on its knees, so this decision will be a real boost for local farmers.“ “Famers raised the question with me of harvesting feral oysters as a potential means for them to remain viable while solutions to the virus were being developed, something I talked over with the Minister and officials. “As it currently stands, oyster farmers are only able to gather feral oysters if they have a commercial fishing permit, something that they explained to me wasn’t a workable fit for their scenario and wasn’t viable given their difficult financial situation.

“I am pleased to announce that the Minister for Primary Industries (MPI), Nathan Guy has approved a new special purpose permit under section 97(1)(c) of the Fisheries Act 1996 enabling MPI to issue special permits to oyster farmers to collect feral oysters and transfer them onto their marine farms, for later re-harvest and sale," said Mr Sabin.

The decision follows consultation with Maori and other affected stakeholders, Mr Sabin saying the permits will be valid for three years to allow the oyster industry to recover from the impacts of the virus and the permit would still be subject to food safety requirements. In approving the special permit purpose, Minister Guy acknowledged the unusual and special circumstances of this particular situation, providing a cost effective mechanism for farmers to recover while they try to rebuild their industry … … .

See the source (

Special Permits for Oyster Farmers Hit by Virus

New Zealand – Special permits can now be issued to some oyster farmers whose businesses have been affected by the oyster herpes virus to gather wild (feral) Pacific oysters, which will come as a great relief to the local oyster industry.

Mike Sabin, MP for Northland commented: “I have had a number of meetings with Northland oyster farmers over the past 18 months and have a great deal of empathy for their plight, with this virus devastating their spawning stock and putting the industry on its knees, so this decision will be a real boost for local farmers.“ “Famers raised the question with me of harvesting feral oysters as a potential means for them to remain viable while solutions to the virus were being developed, something I talked over with the Minister and officials. “As it currently stands, oyster farmers are only able to gather feral oysters if they have a commercial fishing permit, something that they explained to me wasn’t a workable fit for their scenario and wasn’t viable given their difficult financial situation.

“I am pleased to announce that the Minister for Primary Industries (MPI), Nathan Guy has approved a new special purpose permit under section 97(1)(c) of the Fisheries Act 1996 enabling MPI to issue special permits to oyster farmers to collect feral oysters and transfer them onto their marine farms, for later re-harvest and sale," said Mr Sabin.

The decision follows consultation with Maori and other affected stakeholders, Mr Sabin saying the permits will be valid for three years to allow the oyster industry to recover from the impacts of the virus and the permit would still be subject to food safety requirements. In approving the special permit purpose, Minister Guy acknowledged the unusual and special circumstances of this particular situation, providing a cost effective mechanism for farmers to recover while they try to rebuild their industry … … .

See the source (

Special Permits for Oyster Farmers Hit by Virus

New Zealand – Special permits can now be issued to some oyster farmers whose businesses have been affected by the oyster herpes virus to gather wild (feral) Pacific oysters, which will come as a great relief to the local oyster industry.

Mike Sabin, MP for Northland commented: “I have had a number of meetings with Northland oyster farmers over the past 18 months and have a great deal of empathy for their plight, with this virus devastating their spawning stock and putting the industry on its knees, so this decision will be a real boost for local farmers.“ “Famers raised the question with me of harvesting feral oysters as a potential means for them to remain viable while solutions to the virus were being developed, something I talked over with the Minister and officials. “As it currently stands, oyster farmers are only able to gather feral oysters if they have a commercial fishing permit, something that they explained to me wasn’t a workable fit for their scenario and wasn’t viable given their difficult financial situation.

“I am pleased to announce that the Minister for Primary Industries (MPI), Nathan Guy has approved a new special purpose permit under section 97(1)(c) of the Fisheries Act 1996 enabling MPI to issue special permits to oyster farmers to collect feral oysters and transfer them onto their marine farms, for later re-harvest and sale," said Mr Sabin.

The decision follows consultation with Maori and other affected stakeholders, Mr Sabin saying the permits will be valid for three years to allow the oyster industry to recover from the impacts of the virus and the permit would still be subject to food safety requirements. In approving the special permit purpose, Minister Guy acknowledged the unusual and special circumstances of this particular situation, providing a cost effective mechanism for farmers to recover while they try to rebuild their industry … … .

See the source (http://tinyurl.com/otfnsds) for the full story.

[For information on this special permit see http://tinyurl.com/nmrbf5p.  ADS-Mod]

) for the full story.

[For information on this special permit see http://tinyurl.com/nmrbf5p.  ADS-Mod]

) for the full story.

[For information on this special permit see http://tinyurl.com/nmrbf5p.  ADS-Mod]

Photo: Two months after a disease outbreak wiped out most of the oysters in Sydney's Hawkesbury River, many of the leaseholders are facing financial ruin. (Angela Laviopierre)

Oyster growers in NSW may have to wait up to eight years for a POMS-resistant breed to be commercially available in Australia.
POMS, or Pacific Oyster Mortality Syndrome, wiped out an estimated 10 million oysters in the Hawkesbury River earlier this year, and growers in the area are still without stock.
Ray Tynan grows Sydney Rock oysters at Pambula Lake, on the NSW south coast, and is also one of the directors with the NSW Select Oysters Company.
Mr Tynan says while he recommends north coast growers divert any funds they have left to sourcing QX-resistant Sydney Rocks, he says demand for all disease-resistant oysters is outstripping supply.
"Despite a number of years of patience, we have not yet found that there is sufficient hatchery production in the state."
Wayne O'Connor, principal research scientist with the NSW Department of Primary Industries, agrees that hatchery production is an issue for the country's oyster industry, and says the department is currently looking at ways the situation could be managed for efficiently.
"One of the real challenges that we've got is that we've got a relatively small market for hatchery production at the moment," he said.
"It's probably somewhere between 20 and 25 million seed a year and unfortunately that production is probably enough to maintain one, possibly two hatcheries and yet we have at least six different products that industry wants.
"There are three different species of oysters that are being produced and then within those particular species there are different types.
"So when a farmer rings up, often the hatcheries can't produce them concurrently and so the farmer can't always get what they want straight away.
"What we are working on, is employing a manager to collect all of the orders and work with industry and then work with the hatcheries to try and makes sure these industries are filled. So we're looking to get the funding to bring a manager in."
Topics:
fishing-aquaculture,
agricultural-marketing,
lower-hawkesbury-2775
More stories from New South Wales

Oyster Herpesvirus type 1 — a herpes virus that is deadly for baby oysters — first struck in France in 2008, wiping out juveniles in droves.

CHRISTMAS FEAST: As the briny-tasting mollusks take three years to plump up to a good size for eating, this is the first festive season the shortage will be felt. (Photo: ZUMA Press)

ARCACHON, France - French oyster lovers may have to go without one of their favorite Christmas treats this year as a persistent killer virus eats into stocks and drives up prices by as much as 40 percent.
Oyster Herpesvirus type 1, or OsHV-1 — a herpes virus that is deadly for baby oysters — first struck in France in 2008, wiping out juveniles in droves at breeding sites from the northern coast of Brittany to the Mediterranean sea.
As the briny-tasting mollusks take three years to plump up to a good size for eating, this is the first festive season the shortage will be felt, as the French look to tuck into platters of slippery raw oysters with lemon and shallot vinegar at Christmas and New Year feasts.
"You could say this is our last big Christmas. It's a catastrophe," said Renan Henry, an oyster producer who last year set up the Committee to Save Oyster Farming over the virus. He said a third of France's oyster breeders could go bust in 2011.
In the southwestern seaside town of Arcachon, breeder Jerome Delarue fears he will run out of oysters from early January after losing 80 percent of his juveniles in three years. "I am wondering whether I shouldn't just give up completely," he said.
The CNC national shellfish farming committee says oyster production has dropped to 80,000 tonnes this year from 130,000 tonnes in normal times, prompting prices to surge by as much as 40 percent in recent weeks, ahead of the year-end rush.
France is the world's fourth-largest oyster producer after China, Japan and Korea, with some 4,000 mainly family-owned breeding farms along its shores employing some 11,000 people.
Scientists believe the OsHV-1 virus is fatal to baby oysters because they have spent more energy developing their sexual organs than on building up their natural defenses.
Oyster farms in Asia have so far been unaffected by the epidemic, prompting hopes a resistant species could be found.
Scientists recently traveled to Japan to bring back oyster species and are testing them to see if they prove resistant in French waters, CNC President Goulven Brest told Reuters.
The CNC is also cross breeding survivors to try and develop a "super-resistant " strain that can fight off the virus.
That still leaves oyster industry in a state of crisis for the time being.
"Even if we stopped (the virus) tomorrow, the first harvest still wouldn't come out until around 2015. How are we supposed to survive until then?" Renan lamented.

The ASSG is organising a workshop to provide an update on current knowledge of the oyster herpes and its impacts in France, England and N. Ireland and to provide a forum to air our own concerns and to discuss best means to protect Scotland from this and other threats.

Speakers will include Dr Mike Gubbins of CEFAS talking on the oyster herpes situation in England, Fabrice Richez giving us the inside story from France while Martin Flanigan will tell us about what practical measures they are putting in place in N. Ireland including on-farm research methods. 
While oyster herpes tends to get most attention, a recent scientific publication from Marine Scotland Science gives a timely reminder that oysters are not the only species under threat since if Marteilia, now found in England, were to be introduced here, the effects could be far more catastrophic. 
One of the authors of this paper, Mar Marcos-Lopez from Marine Scotland Science will complete the programme of speakers talking on biosecurity and threats we need to keep well in mind. 
Janet Brown who will be chairing the workshop hopes that the speakers will provoke much debate from the audience with a view to deciding if any actions are necessary or whether awareness will suffice.  The workshop will be held in Oban, April 16th with registration from 9am and with the meeting starting at 10am.  Lunch will be provided and the AGM will follow at 14.30.
Non-members of the ASSG are also welcome to attend but there will be a charge for non-members of £20.  Please register your interest if a member, or register and pay if a non-member via the website www.assg.org.uk
The full programme is attached in facsimile Grower style.  The electronic version of the Grower will be available for non-members soon but this gives an indication of what you may have been missing the past 3 weeks!
Precise venue in Oban will be announced once we have a better idea of numbers attending – so please register as soon as possible.

WHEN the news came through, the fourth-generation oyster farmer Rob Moxham said it made him feel sick to his stomach.
Tests this week confirmed that the Pacific oyster mortality syndrome had reached the Hawkesbury's tributary, Mullet Creek, the local industry's nursery for juvenile stock.
''We were hoping it wouldn't get here but we were half expecting it,'' he said.
With no resistance to the virus, oysters that had been healthy on Monday were felled - in their millions - virtually overnight.
With them went hopes that many of the Hawkesbury's 15 growers would have any produce by the end of this year.
Mr Moxham said mature stocks could run out sooner, especially if the infection spread before they could reach the market. ''In 24 hours it wiped out probably about 90 per cent of the oysters over a 50-hectare area,'' he said. ''It's just so devastating.''
The outbreak, which poses no health risk to humans, comes less than a decade after the Hawkesbury's Sydney rock oyster crop was obliterated by the QX disease in 2005.
Some growers who, as a result, had switched to the ''spawnless'' fast-growing Pacific oysters were talking of calling it quits this time.
''I'll try to stay on,'' Mr Moxham said. ''I can't see myself being able to sustain all my staff.''
The Department of Primary Industry's aquaculture manager, Ian Lyall, said it would meet farmers on Tuesday to discuss assistance.
The Hawkesbury produces more than 300,000 dozen oysters a year, about half the state's Pacific oysters, worth about $2.4 million.
The president of the Broken Bay Oyster Association, John Stubbs, said the outbreak would cost farmers a ''substantial amount'' of money. ''There's several million oysters in Mullet Creek,'' he said.
About 20 per cent of the local industry's 245 hectares has been affected by the virus. A quarantine is in place to try to prevent its spread.
The Sydney Fish Markets said the price and availability of Pacific oysters were not expected to be affected by the virus, which was first detected in NSW in 2010 when it hit crops in the Georges River. An outbreak was found in Sydney Harbour soon after.
Richard Whittington from the University of Sydney's faculty of veterinary science, has been working with the industry to reduce the risk from the virus.
He said it was unknown what triggered an outbreak but there was a ''very strong possibility'' that unusual seasonal conditions - such as last week's heatwave - had reduced the oysters' immunity.
It might also have spread naturally in ocean currents, he said, or have been transported on the hulls of pleasure boats or in the ballast of commercial ships.
Government and industry groups were working to develop disease-resistant varieties of the Sydney rock and Pacific oysters.
But Mr Moxham said some farmers would have to give those solutions time to work.
''I'm trying to make it so there's a fifth generation,'' he said.

Google translation

BORDEAUX - The oyster industry organizes a conference Wednesday to Sunday World in Arcachon (Gironde) where experts will discuss the four years mortality affecting up to 75% of young oysters in France, a phenomenon related to climate change also observed in other countries.

In total, approximately 370 oyster industry professionals - producers, scientists, experts, institutions - from 25 countries (New Zealand, Australia, China, Korea, Japan, USA, Mexico, Namibia, Morocco in particular) will be attending.

For five days, the issue of mortality of oysters and its consequences for operators will be the focus of this conference, a world first. Organized at the initiative of the regional shellfish (SRC) Aquitaine Arcachon, its objective is to "find lasting solutions."

"Oysters are in the world, a fragile resource that is not going very well and this is largely due to climate change," explains Sébastien Chantereau, general secretary of the National Committee of shellfish (CNC).

Thus, ocean acidification, rising temperatures, anoxia (lack of oxygen) of water in some areas ... related to global warming have an impact on oysters, which are true "sentinels of the environment like bees are to the earth," says Chantereau.

France, Ireland, Portugal and Spain, but also since 2010 in Australia and New Zealand, the mortality is largely due to the presence of herpes OsHV-1.

It is "the main pathogen detected regularly during mortality events (...). It is associated with mortalities in hatchery nursery as well as in the natural environment," says the French Research Institute for the Exploitation of the Sea (Ifremer).

"Between 1995 and 2007, mortality rates have remained relatively stable at the national level and situated at around 15%," according to Ifremer, but "2008 showed a sharp increase, and since the rate remains high (.. .) reaching 63% national average in 2011. "

"After four years of crisis, we need to exchange in order to understand what happens and enjoy the returns of'' experienced professionals to anticipate future crises," said Olivier Laban, president of the CBC Arcachon- Aquitaine.

"We need to share our experiences as professional practices are the only levers that act to reduce this mortality," says Chantereau.

"The industry must consider all possibilities of change in farming practices and more generally in livestock management, to minimize the risk of transmitting the virus," said Benedict Beliaeff, head of the Department of Biological Resources and Environment Ifremer .

For him, "parallel to these preventive measures, genetic selection is a way to go. It is more resistant families identify and implement plans to cross restocking and improving the capture."

"Finding a strain that is resistant to this virus will be long, an import of a new strain would be faster but the rules prohibit us today," says Laban.

In the 70s, an unprecedented epidemic had decimated the Bassin d'Arcachon oysters, which were then largely of Portuguese origin.

Professionals had decided to import a variety of mass oysters from Japan, thus saving the Bay of Arcachon oyster.

With some 130,000 tonnes produced annually, France is the fifth largest producer. The Bassin d'Arcachon congress website, some 350 companies produce 8 to 10,000 tons of oysters per year.

Shellfish aquaculture forms a small but expanding section of Scotland's seafood production. This production benefits from a good health status with the absence of notifiable diseases, except for localised cases of Bonamia ostreae. In this paper we review factors that could lead to the introduction and/or spread of key diseases in order that associated risk can be minimised. We selected B. ostreae and Bonamia exitiosa, Marteilia refringens and oyster herpesvirus as key pathogens; all of which have been found in and are notifiable within the United Kingdom. Vulnerabilities of molluscs farmed in Scotland to these pathogens are reviewed, as are sources of infection in neighbouring areas from which the pathogens might be introduced. We then examine: key pathways of introduction, whether conditions are suitable for the pathogens to persist in Scotland, potential for spread within Scotland and likelihood, and consequence of disease outbreaks. The major pathway for potential introduction is with the import of Pacific oysters from hatcheries. B. ostreae is the pathogen that has the highest probability of causing disease, however B. ostreae is restricted to native oysters whose production in Scotland is very small. Oyster herpesvirus could cause far larger economic consequences due to the size of the Pacific oyster industry but is less likely to invade. Therefore risks for B. ostreae and oyster herpesvirus are similar. Risks could change if imports are sourced from higher risk areas or pathogens spread in areas where currently used hatcheries are located. Water temperature in Scotland is marginal for oyster herpesvirus and M. refringens so continuation of warming trends could increase risks from these pathogens.

Alexander G. Murray, Mar Marcos-Lopez, Bertrand Collet, Lorna A. Munro

Samples taken from the affected site were confirmed as positive for oyster herpesvirus (OsHV-1 uvar), and a containment area has been declared in the River Blackwater Estuary, Essex and the River Colne Estuary, Essex.
In accordance with provisions under the Aquatic Animal Health (England and Wales) Regulations 2009, movements of shellfish out of the containment area in the River Blackwater Estuary and the River Colne Estuary have been restricted, following the confirmation of oyster herpesvirus (OsHV-1 uvar).
Cefas, acting on behalf of Defra, has issued a confirmed designation prohibiting the movement of Pacific oysters from the containment area and applying additional control measures [details at the source URL].
OsHV-1 uvar affects Pacific oysters and can result in high rates of shellfish mortalities. OsHV-1 uvar is an emerging disease that has been associated with high levels of mortality in Pacific oysters in France, Jersey and some bays in the Republic of Ireland. There are no implications for human health.
Any suspicion of the presence of OsHV-1 in Pacific oysters should be immediately reported to Cefas in Weymouth.
[For background, see Mod.PMB's commentary in ProMED post 20111226.3675. - Mod.AS
A HealthMap/ProMED-mail map can be accessed at:
ProMED-mail makes every effort to verify the reports that are posted, but the accuracy and completeness of the
information, and of any statements or opinions based
thereon, are not guaranteed. The reader assumes all risks in
using information posted or archived by ProMED-mail. ISID
and its associated service providers shall not be held responsible for errors or omissions or held liable for any damages incurred as a result of use or reliance upon posted or archived material.

On 1 August 2012 Fish Health Inspectors from the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) examined stock from a shellfish farm in the River Blackwater Estuary, Essex following reports of high levels of mortality in Pacific (rock) oysters Crassostrea gigas.
Samples taken from the affected site were confirmed as positive for oyster herpesvirus (OsHV-1 var), and a Containment Area has been declared in the River Blackwater Estuary, Essex and the River Colne Estuary, Essex.
In accordance with provisions under the Aquatic Animal Health (England and Wales) Regulations 2009 movements of shellfish out of the Containment Area in the River Blackwater Estuary, and the River Colne Estuary have been restricted, following the confirmation of oyster herpes virus (OsHV-1 var).
Cefas acting on behalf of Defra has issued a confirmed designation prohibiting the movement of Pacific oysters from the Containment Area and applying the following additional control measures:
You must apply to the Fish Health Inspectorate for permission if you wish to move any Pacific oysters out of the area, including movements into purification centres (depuration plants).
You must notify the Fish Health Inspectorate of any increased or unexpected mortality observed in shellfish stocks.

Confirmed Designation number CD Area 03 issued on 27 March 2009 for the control of Bonamiasis in Ostrea edulis (native oysters) remains unaffected by this notice.
OsHV-1 var affects Pacific oysters and can result in high rates of shellfish mortalities.
OsHV-1 var is an emerging disease that has been associated with high levels of mortality in Pacific oysters in France, Jersey and some bays in the Republic of Ireland.
There are no implications for human health.
Any suspicion of the presence of OsHV-1 in Pacific oysters should be immediately reported to the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) in Weymouth
TheFishSite News Desk
Fish Health, Biosecurity and Hygiene, Oysters, Government and Regulatory, AQUACULTURE, SUSTAINABLE FISHING

Boost for oyster virus battle
BILL MOORE Last updated 13:00 10/05/2012SharePrint Text Size Relevant offersWork on breeding herpes-resistant oyster spat is showing encouraging signs that it might be able to get the devastated North Island industry back on track, says Cawthron Institute business manager Mike Mandeno.

Since the ostreid herpes virus – harmless to humans, deadly to juvenile pacific oysters – began to hit Northland's oyster farms towards the end of 2010 it has severely cut production and hundreds of workers have lost their jobs.

The same virus has caused major problems overseas.

Cawthron – itself temporarily affected by the virus early last year – is leading efforts to counter it by breeding disease-resistant stock.

The Government has just provided $410,000 to the oyster industry from its sustainable farming fund.

Mr Mandeno said Cawthron was reallocating "roughly the same amount" within its cultured shellfish programme to focus on oyster breeding, which had become "a huge priority".

"We're working with industry and pooling resources to breed oysters that are resistant to the virus," he said. "That work's already under way.

"The early indications are encouraging and similar early indications for similar work in Australia are also encouraging, and we're taking a lot of heart from that."

This was the first time selective breeding had been used to combat this virus anywhere in the world, Mr Mandeno said, and the work underscored the importance of having research funding to ensure Cawthron's core capability was maintained and developed.

The benefits of the breeding programme would accumulate through the generations, but could start to help immediately.

Top of the south oyster farmers have questioned the safety of the Cawthron programme.

But Mr Mandeno said the institute's problem with the virus was "long behind us" and since then it had never been detected by independent testing.

Cawthron, which opened its oyster hatchery at the Glen Aquaculture Centre in mid-2009, can produce up to 50 million oyster spat a year, a fifth of the industry's requirements.

The rest is gathered from the wild.

Aquaculture New Zealand technical director Colin Johnston said the funding application was prepared in conjunction with the Oyster Industry Association and in consultation with Cawthron and other science providers.

The sustainable farming fund, totalling $8 million over three years, was managed by the Ministry for Primary Industry and had previously only been applied to land-based farming, he said.

It is used for grants directly to farming groups, not scientific providers.

Ad Feedback The money, approved last week, would be divided between the selective breeding programme to "top up" Cawthron's needs, developing and bringing in changes to farming practices and some other scientific work. "This is the first year that aquaculture has been eligible, Mr Johnston said.

"The fact that we've got it through is good.

"It represents the quality of the proposal and the importance Government is putting on the aquaculture industry."

Pacific oyster farming is the smallest sector of the New Zealand marine farming industry, accounting for 6 per cent of aquaculture exports, worth $16.2m in 2009.

Domestic sales were estimated at $9m. In contrast, mussel exports were $202.5m and salmon $61m.

But until the virus hit, oysters were seen as one of the keys to growing aquaculture into a billion-dollar sector by 2025.

Cawthron has been breeding oysters for more than a decade and spent $750,000 developing the hatchery.

- © Fairfax NZ News