Crassostrea gigas
(Pacific or Japanese oyster)
The susceptibility of the eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica in Chesapeake Bay to MSX and Dermo disease led some researchers in the late 1980s to advocate exploring the potential of introducing C. gigas, a species that appeared capable of tolerating MSX and Dermo.
C. gigas had been imported to the U.S. west coast early in the century and has been the basis of the industry there, which is largely dependent on hatchery production. It is also the most widely cultured oyster in the world, having been introduced in such countries as France, England, New Zealand and Australia (Synopsis of the Oyster Ecology Workshop 1991). The prospects of such an introduction led to a great deal of controversy over the potential ecological risks in the Chesapeake; many felt that there was not enough information on the ecology of C. gigas to even address the risks. For this reason, a workshop was convened that brought together international experts who met with biologists, resource managers and others to determine what was known and not known about ecology of C. gigas (Leffler and Greer 1991). But C. gigas turned out to be a poor candidate for Chesapeake Bay, largely because studies showed that it was undistinguished with regard to growth, tolerance to disease and taste acceptability, compared with the native oyster (Calvo et al. 1999).
Selected Refererences
Calvo, G.W., M.W. Luckehbach, S.K. Allen, Jr. and E.M. Burreson. 1999. Comparative field study of Crassostrea gigas and Crassostrea virginica in relation to salinity in Virginia. Journal of Shellfish Research 18:465-473.
Leffler, M. and J.R. Greer, eds. 1991. The Ecology of Crassostrea gigas in Australia, New Zealand, France and Washington. Maryland Sea Grant, College Park, Maryland. UM-SG-TS-92-07.
Mann, R., E.M. Burreson and P.K. Baker. 1991. The decline of the Virginia oyster fishery in Chesapeake Bay: considerations for introduction of a non-endemic species, C. gigas (Thunberg, 1793), Journal of Shellfish Research 10(2):379-388.
