303
tern occurred with the difference that as these
species are not breeding on the entire Atlantic
coast, Arcachon and Marennes-Oléron became
the spat collection centers providing other farming zones, effectively Brittany, Normandy, and
the Mediterranean sites.
Despite little known, until the 1980s the
collection of spat on collectors has always been
accompanied by fi shing oysters on natural stocks
(oysters of small size for further farming or bigger for direct selling). But in the 1990s, the use of
oyster fi shing on wild stocks was no longer valid
since the controlled reproduction of oyster in
hatchery helped to provide farmers with spat easier to work and not subject to the interannual
variations of spat collection in the natural
environment.
From 2008, to offset the high mortality of
young oysters due to OsHV-1, two adaptations
appeared: (1) an increase of spat stocked for
farming, through increasing the number of collectors installed and also using a larger proportion of hatchery spat, and (2) a return to the
additional practice of fi shing wild oysters, here at
commercial size, to compensate for the loss of
volume driven by mortality.
3.2.2 Imports of Oysters
Imports of oysters were often used to compensate
for mortality or for supplying the market. Thus,
in 1866 the lack of oysters resulted in the importation of Portuguese oysters Crassostrea angulata from the Tagus Estuary. At the same time, an
accidental cargo release of C. angulata into the
estuary of the Gironde had allowed the introduction of the species on the French coast, followed
by a rapid expansion south of the Loire estuary,
but that species had been rejected by production
centers breeding the traditional fl at oyster, i.e., in
Brittany. It is at the end of the First World War
that consumer demand and high mortality (1921–
1923) on fl at oyster forced professionals to adopt
the Portuguese oyster. Similarly, after World War
II, restarting consumption led to the importation
of oysters from Portugal and other countries from
1955 (Anonyme, 1955 ). In February 1966, a producer of La Tremblade (Charente Maritime),
P. Jarno, imported from Japan the fi rst batch of
spat of oysters Crassostrea gigas . Its rapid
growth and tolerance for iridoviruses which decimated the Portuguese oyster (1970–1973) led to
its adoption by professionals at individual level
(imports of seed from Japan) and at collective
level (reseeding from natural deposits by adult
oysters from British Columbia, USA).
4
The Social-ecological
System, a New Concept
for Analyzing Adaptations
and Resilience
It is obvious that changes in ecosystem affect the
development of oysters and thus the production
of farmed oysters. How oyster farmers have
adapted to disturbances or simple changes, with
implications for oyster production, and why? Is it
only the fact of oyster farmers or a set of actors
involved in oyster industry, including research
and public authorities? The analysis of disturbances and changes in ecosystem and of the
adaptations set in response, in place, shows the
multiplicity of actors involved and the plurality
of adaptive registers that are mobilized. The concept of social-ecological system (SES), allowing
a holistic analysis, seems a suitable tool.
The question of adapting to changes in socialecological systems (SESs) is central in contemporary research work. Holling in 1973 introduced
for the fi rst time the notion of resilience of ecological systems within a refl ection on their stability against fl uctuations and so opened a wide fi eld
of ecological research about the resilience of ecosystems. The development of the concept of
social-ecological system, and questions for the
defi nition and implementation of sustainable
development, led to the study of the adaptability
and the resilience of SESs. Taking into account
that the numerous works about resilience have
led to various interpretations and some confusion, Walker et al. ( 2004 ) provided an interpretation and analysis of the concepts of resilience,
adaptability, and transformability in SESs. They
consider that the paths taken by a SES depend on
three attributes: resilience, adaptability, and
transformability.
Changes, Adaptations, and Resilience: The Case of French Oyster Farming
tern occurred with the difference that as these
species are not breeding on the entire Atlantic
coast, Arcachon and Marennes-Oléron became
the spat collection centers providing other farming zones, effectively Brittany, Normandy, and
the Mediterranean sites.
Despite little known, until the 1980s the
collection of spat on collectors has always been
accompanied by fi shing oysters on natural stocks
(oysters of small size for further farming or bigger for direct selling). But in the 1990s, the use of
oyster fi shing on wild stocks was no longer valid
since the controlled reproduction of oyster in
hatchery helped to provide farmers with spat easier to work and not subject to the interannual
variations of spat collection in the natural
environment.
From 2008, to offset the high mortality of
young oysters due to OsHV-1, two adaptations
appeared: (1) an increase of spat stocked for
farming, through increasing the number of collectors installed and also using a larger proportion of hatchery spat, and (2) a return to the
additional practice of fi shing wild oysters, here at
commercial size, to compensate for the loss of
volume driven by mortality.
3.2.2 Imports of Oysters
Imports of oysters were often used to compensate
for mortality or for supplying the market. Thus,
in 1866 the lack of oysters resulted in the importation of Portuguese oysters Crassostrea angulata from the Tagus Estuary. At the same time, an
accidental cargo release of C. angulata into the
estuary of the Gironde had allowed the introduction of the species on the French coast, followed
by a rapid expansion south of the Loire estuary,
but that species had been rejected by production
centers breeding the traditional fl at oyster, i.e., in
Brittany. It is at the end of the First World War
that consumer demand and high mortality (1921–
1923) on fl at oyster forced professionals to adopt
the Portuguese oyster. Similarly, after World War
II, restarting consumption led to the importation
of oysters from Portugal and other countries from
1955 (Anonyme, 1955 ). In February 1966, a producer of La Tremblade (Charente Maritime),
P. Jarno, imported from Japan the fi rst batch of
spat of oysters Crassostrea gigas . Its rapid
growth and tolerance for iridoviruses which decimated the Portuguese oyster (1970–1973) led to
its adoption by professionals at individual level
(imports of seed from Japan) and at collective
level (reseeding from natural deposits by adult
oysters from British Columbia, USA).
4
The Social-ecological
System, a New Concept
for Analyzing Adaptations
and Resilience
It is obvious that changes in ecosystem affect the
development of oysters and thus the production
of farmed oysters. How oyster farmers have
adapted to disturbances or simple changes, with
implications for oyster production, and why? Is it
only the fact of oyster farmers or a set of actors
involved in oyster industry, including research
and public authorities? The analysis of disturbances and changes in ecosystem and of the
adaptations set in response, in place, shows the
multiplicity of actors involved and the plurality
of adaptive registers that are mobilized. The concept of social-ecological system (SES), allowing
a holistic analysis, seems a suitable tool.
The question of adapting to changes in socialecological systems (SESs) is central in contemporary research work. Holling in 1973 introduced
for the fi rst time the notion of resilience of ecological systems within a refl ection on their stability against fl uctuations and so opened a wide fi eld
of ecological research about the resilience of ecosystems. The development of the concept of
social-ecological system, and questions for the
defi nition and implementation of sustainable
development, led to the study of the adaptability
and the resilience of SESs. Taking into account
that the numerous works about resilience have
led to various interpretations and some confusion, Walker et al. ( 2004 ) provided an interpretation and analysis of the concepts of resilience,
adaptability, and transformability in SESs. They
consider that the paths taken by a SES depend on
three attributes: resilience, adaptability, and
transformability.
Changes, Adaptations, and Resilience: The Case of French Oyster Farming