Project number: 2011-043
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $90,000.00
Principal Investigator: Tom Lewis
Organisation: RDS Partners Pty Ltd
Project start/end date: 26 Jul 2011 - 30 Jul 2012
Contact:
FRDC
TAGS
Shellfish Industry
Research
Quality
Mortality
Management
SPECIES
Pacific Oyster

Need

The Pacific oyster virus (Ostreid Herpesvirus-1, OsHV-1) is a pathogen that has been regularly detected in France since 1991. The virus has generally been associated with Pacific oyster larval mortality in hatcheries and in Pacific oyster spat mortality outbreaks.

The recent incursion of the highly pathogenic OHsV-1 micro variant into New Zealand and NSW waters, leading to 80-100% mortality in weeks, has raised the very real prospect of this deadly oyster virus spreading to other Pacific oyster growing states.

This virus, if spread unchecked in Australia, has the potential to destroy the Pacific oyster aquaculture industry, which is currently worth about $65million in farm gate sales in SA, Tas and NSW.

There is an urgent need to collate and disseminate information regarding the source, transmission, pathogenicity, control and mitigation of this virus and its effects on farmed Pacific oysters.

This project has been developed to provide a considered response to that need.

Objectives

1. A desktop study on industry relevant issues associated with OsHV1 and the related Pacific Oyster Mortality Syndrome (POMS)
2. A field visit by a small group to France to engage their industry and to discuss first hand industry experience regarding the effects and management of OsHV1
3. The development and extension of a national strategy to control and/or minimise the spread of OsHV1 in Australia and to develop management strategies to mitigate the effects of the disease in areas in which is, or may become, established

Final report

Author: Tom Lewis
Final Report • 2012-03-29 • 2.96 MB
2011-043-DLD.pdf

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