Project: <\/strong>BIVALIFE<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oysters are being wiped out in Europe. But can science save them? In southwest France, oyster farmers say they have good reason to fear for their livelihoods. Scientists at a European research project are trying to identify and neutralise the elusive oyster killers.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n One of those affected is G\u00e9rald Viaud, an oyster farmer in the region, who said: \u201cThe oyster farming cycle is three to four years. We suffer mortality rates of up to 80 or 90 per cent during the first year, when oysters are very young. Mortality rates are between 10 to 15 per cent in the second year. And then 30 to 40 per cent in the third year. At the end of the cycle, we can barely sell one out of every 10 farmed oysters.\u201d Background Project: BIVALIFE Oysters are being wiped out in Europe. But can science save them? In southwest France, oyster farmers say they have good reason to fear for their livelihoods. Scientists at a European research project are trying to identify and neutralise the elusive oyster killers. One of those affected is G\u00e9rald Viaud, an oyster farmer […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"","geographic_location":[96],"collaboration_opportunities":[100],"technologies":[],"class_list":["post-1242","success_story","type-success_story","status-publish","hentry","geographic_location-europe","collaboration_opportunities-government"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Scientists have studied the role played by one virus, three bacteria and one parasite. They\u2019ve learnt how the pathogens affect oysters. And they say that protecting such vulnerable animals is far from easy.
Tristan Renault, a veterinary physician and IFREMER Bivalife project coordinator, explained: \u201cA vaccination isn\u2019t possible for shellfish. Bivalves are invertebrate animals. They lack the antibodies that are stimulated through vaccination, as is the case in human beings or land farm animals\u201d.
Several possible solutions are being studied. The most promising, despite being a slower process, is natural selection and crossing-over, researchers say.
\u201cIn oyster communities, there can be stronger and fitter individuals. They can defend themselves better against viral infections. So eventually we\u2019ll possibly cross-over the stronger specimens to obtain whole families of more resistant individuals,\u201d Renault said.
Unlike land farm animals, oysters are farmed in a complex open location, with multiple environmental factors that are difficult to control, including ocean water temperature, salinity, acidity and\u2026 pollution.
Jean-Paul Lopez, an oyster farmer, said: \u201cYou have the virus but then there\u2019s also pollution. Nitrates, pesticides, compost: everything ends up in the ocean. And then waste water from treatment plants that doesn\u2019t always comply with standards.\u201d
\u201cOysters grow in an open environment. Here for instance we\u2019re studying the role that a mix of 12 pesticides are playing in making pathogen agents more virulent and oysters even more susceptible to their attack,\u201d added Renault, IFREMER Bivalife project coordinator.
\u201cWe, the oyster farmers, definitely need more research done on the quality of the environment, of the water and the sediment. We need to know how to better manage our whole ecosystem,\u201d said oyster farmer G\u00e9rald Viaud.
Despite the grim reality, both researchers and oyster farmers refuse to surrender.
\u201cI was 20 years old when I experienced the previous wave of massive deaths in the sector. If I hadn\u2019t been an optimist then, now at 63 years old I wouldn\u2019t still be in the business. I\u2019m going to keep on fighting for oyster farming. My children still work in the business. I really hope that my grandchildren will one day also work with us in the family oyster business,\u201d explained Viaud.
This innovation was made possible by Israel\u2019s continued participation in the official Horizon 2020 fund, managed in Israel by ISERD part of The Israel Innovation Authority (Formerly the Office of the Chief Scientist and MATIMOP). The initiative has taken Israeli R&D to the next level with the help of ground-breaking collaboration between scientists in Israel and Europe, as well as essential funding and support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Project details<\/strong>
Project acronym: BIVALIFE<\/strong>
Participants: <\/strong>France (Coordinator), Spain, Ireland, Netherlands, Italy, Israel, UK
FP7 Project N\u00b0<\/strong> 266157
Total costs:<\/strong> \u20ac4 472 116
EU contribution: <\/strong>\u20ac2 995 636
Duration:<\/strong> February 2011 – January 2014<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"