301
oyster in the 1980s (Anonyme, 1923 ). Noticeable
are the events before 1900: spat collection was
developed from its mastery in 1852, and the fi rst
import of Portuguese oysters Crassostrea angulata
from Portugal was in 1866. But the real development of farming of that species was in 1923, at the
time of mass mortality of O. edulis . The production
of C. angulata developed, except during World
War II, until mass mortality due to iridovirus in the
early 1970s led to a collapse of this species.
The French oyster farming recovered thanks
to the introduction of Crassostrea gigas from
Japan and America in the 1970s and has grown to
a high level, up to 140,000 T in the 1990s. In the
late 1990s were already observed summer overmortalities, but the last decade, in 2000s, is
marked by mass mortalities: fi rst for spat from
2008 due to the herpes virus OsHV-1 microvar,
leading to a decrease of production level as low
as 80,000 T in 2012, and, very recently, in 2013,
for adults, due to Vibrio aesturianus . Today,
the French oyster farming sector is facing a
serious crisis.
3
An Attempt to Analyze
the Major Threats
and Changes
and Adaptations
Table 1 attempts to identify major changes and
disruptions that the oyster industry has faced and
faces now, classifi ed into four broad categories:
anthropogenic, ecological, biological, and technical major events. Listed are also the main adaptations implemented in the oyster industry,
adaptations which are due to either oyster companies or institutional actors including research and
government.
3.1
General Aspects
In oyster farms, there are both technical changes
and new economic strategies that have been
implemented to adapt. In addition to these immediate coping strategies, it is noticeable also that
the oyster business developed proactive strategies, like diversifying their activities (farm visits,
trading shellfi sh), but these fall outside the scope
of this communication. As for research, in case of
disruption, a set of programs are developed to
understand new phenomena and to propose adaptive changes in the systems of oyster culture and
in the institutional framework governing the production and the marine environment. Regarding
government and public organizations, in addition
to alerting devices and crisis management if violent disruption occurs in coastal marine environment, the adaptation to changes and disruptions
takes the way of regulation, by creating new legal
tools or adapting existing tools.
This presentation provides a basis for the analysis that we want to lead but is necessarily simplifi ed and does not pretend to be exhaustive. Two
important parameters, scale and time, are not considered here, while they would be of importance
for a more detailed analysis: some disturbances
are occurring within a short time (big storms, pollution accident, etc.) and in a specifi c area, appealing for quick and simple reaction, while a number
of changes and threats occur on a long period of
time and at a large scale, allowing progressive
adaptations on one main pattern or on regional
patterns but sometimes questioning the persistence of the oyster production.
We cannot perform here a detailed analysis of
this set, but we choose to bring out the analysis of
the adaptations developed by oyster farmers facing recurring mortalities over a period of time
close to a century. This will allow going further in
the analysis of adaptation and resilience in the
last part of the communication.
3.2
The Case of Mortalities
Mass mortalities of oysters are considered
abnormal and affect the economy of oyster farms.
They mark the history of oyster farming and have
sometimes been dominating events in the evolution of the industry. They are mostly related
to pathogens, identifi ed and characterized by
scientists. Bonamiosis and marteiliosis have
been described to explain the mortality of fl at
oyster Ostrea edulis . Similarly, an iridovirus
Changes, Adaptations, and Resilience: The Case of French Oyster Farming
oyster in the 1980s (Anonyme, 1923 ). Noticeable
are the events before 1900: spat collection was
developed from its mastery in 1852, and the fi rst
import of Portuguese oysters Crassostrea angulata
from Portugal was in 1866. But the real development of farming of that species was in 1923, at the
time of mass mortality of O. edulis . The production
of C. angulata developed, except during World
War II, until mass mortality due to iridovirus in the
early 1970s led to a collapse of this species.
The French oyster farming recovered thanks
to the introduction of Crassostrea gigas from
Japan and America in the 1970s and has grown to
a high level, up to 140,000 T in the 1990s. In the
late 1990s were already observed summer overmortalities, but the last decade, in 2000s, is
marked by mass mortalities: fi rst for spat from
2008 due to the herpes virus OsHV-1 microvar,
leading to a decrease of production level as low
as 80,000 T in 2012, and, very recently, in 2013,
for adults, due to Vibrio aesturianus . Today,
the French oyster farming sector is facing a
serious crisis.
3
An Attempt to Analyze
the Major Threats
and Changes
and Adaptations
Table 1 attempts to identify major changes and
disruptions that the oyster industry has faced and
faces now, classifi ed into four broad categories:
anthropogenic, ecological, biological, and technical major events. Listed are also the main adaptations implemented in the oyster industry,
adaptations which are due to either oyster companies or institutional actors including research and
government.
3.1
General Aspects
In oyster farms, there are both technical changes
and new economic strategies that have been
implemented to adapt. In addition to these immediate coping strategies, it is noticeable also that
the oyster business developed proactive strategies, like diversifying their activities (farm visits,
trading shellfi sh), but these fall outside the scope
of this communication. As for research, in case of
disruption, a set of programs are developed to
understand new phenomena and to propose adaptive changes in the systems of oyster culture and
in the institutional framework governing the production and the marine environment. Regarding
government and public organizations, in addition
to alerting devices and crisis management if violent disruption occurs in coastal marine environment, the adaptation to changes and disruptions
takes the way of regulation, by creating new legal
tools or adapting existing tools.
This presentation provides a basis for the analysis that we want to lead but is necessarily simplifi ed and does not pretend to be exhaustive. Two
important parameters, scale and time, are not considered here, while they would be of importance
for a more detailed analysis: some disturbances
are occurring within a short time (big storms, pollution accident, etc.) and in a specifi c area, appealing for quick and simple reaction, while a number
of changes and threats occur on a long period of
time and at a large scale, allowing progressive
adaptations on one main pattern or on regional
patterns but sometimes questioning the persistence of the oyster production.
We cannot perform here a detailed analysis of
this set, but we choose to bring out the analysis of
the adaptations developed by oyster farmers facing recurring mortalities over a period of time
close to a century. This will allow going further in
the analysis of adaptation and resilience in the
last part of the communication.
3.2
The Case of Mortalities
Mass mortalities of oysters are considered
abnormal and affect the economy of oyster farms.
They mark the history of oyster farming and have
sometimes been dominating events in the evolution of the industry. They are mostly related
to pathogens, identifi ed and characterized by
scientists. Bonamiosis and marteiliosis have
been described to explain the mortality of fl at
oyster Ostrea edulis . Similarly, an iridovirus
Changes, Adaptations, and Resilience: The Case of French Oyster Farming