On 25th July, 'The Times' printed a report on a mystery disease which is devastating France's oysters. French oyster farmers are complaining of a sudden rise in the death rate of young oysters, and a shortage of oysters is looming. Several possible causes have been suggested, including toxic algae, but the real cause is probably a combination of a virus and a bacterium. Confédération Paysanne, the farming union, blamed the industrialisation of oyster production, claiming that it creates a breeding ground for viruses and bacteria.
France has 20,000 oyster farmers, and they say that there will not be a shortage as there are plenty of three-year-old shellfish, which are ready to be eaten. However, they are reporting the loss of between 40 and 100 per cent of one-year-old oysters, and the French press have called it a national crisis. France is the world's fourth biggest oyster producer - the biggest in Europe - with an annual catch in a normal year of 130,000 tonnes of oysters from the Atlantic and Mediterranean. The French are also the biggest consumers, with an average of about 50 oysters eaten per person a year.
Britain's smaller oyster industry has not yet been affected; it is worth £23.5 million a year.
Colchester is famous for its oysters, which actually come from the River Colne and estuary; West Mersea is the home of the local oyster industry and the well-known Company Shed fresh fish shop and oyster bar.
The report was also posted online - to read more, or to add your comment online, go to
www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article4393352.ece
To read more about West Mersea oysters, go to
www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2006/dec/16/foodanddrink2