Oyster herpes virus devastates EU stocks
Prices for oysters have already increased by nearly 30% in the two years since the disease first spread and wholesale prices have essentially doubled with further increases likely, said David Jarrad, assistant director of the Shellfish Association of Great Britain and md of River Exe Shellfish Farms.
But UK prices will have an upper limit as restaurants and retailers will only pay so much before they stop selling them entirely, predicted Walter Speirs, chairman of the Association of Scottish Shellfish Growers. "We have found that if the price goes up too much they just go off the blackboard," added Jarrad.
This summer some UK oyster farmers may look to export to France where mature oysters will likely command a higher price, but the real issue is the guarantee of future stock, said Jarrad. OHV is not related to the human strain is safe for consumption.
French wipeout
Oysters grow for three to five years before harvesting and young oysters in France have been virtually wiped out. As a result, French farmers are buying much of the available stock of young oysters at higher prices paid for with French government compensation money, said Jarrad.
UK oyster farmers will struggle to expand production to cover the French shortfall due to a lack of young oysters from hatcheries (the UK only has three which are now essentially servicing the UK, France and Ireland) as well as delays resulting from gaining planning permission, said Speirs.
Uncertainty remains about the spread of the disease or even if it is the main reason for the high mortality rates but the UK has thus far only had one recorded case at a farm in Whitstable Bay, Kent that was successfully quarantined, said Jarrad.
Japanese oysters that do not die when exposed to a different strain of OHV have been imported to France in the hope of breeding a 'mortality resistant' version but a solution to the virus problem is still some way off, said Jarrad.
