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Dead oysters in Limfjord raising concerns
Lucie Rychla
August 4th, 2015
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This article is more than 9 years old.
Locals are worried a deadly parasite may eradicate the whole oyster population
A larger number of dead oysters than normal in the Limfjord in northwestern Jutland could be a sign that a devastating and feared parasite is present.
The company behind Limfjordsøsters, an oyster-rearing project in the area around Oddesund and Venø, has reported that up to 40 percent of the oysters have been found dead.
While it is still too early to say what the cause is, the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration (Fødevarestyrelsen) found larvae of the feared parasite Bonamia Ostreae in tests at two places in the fjord last year.
Like a death sentence
“If it sits on an oyster, it’s a death sentence,” Bjarne From, the executive manager of Limfjordsøsters, told DR.
If new tests prove that the cause of the dead oysters is Bonamia, it could have major consequences and could even stop the growth of the oyster population in the Limfjord, worries From.
In 1979 and 1980, the Bonamia parasite eradicated the entire population of flat oyster in Europe.
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