All is not lost.

Victim of the devastation of its aquatic environment and overfishing, the wild flat oyster is clearly threatened with extinction.

She who has been so abundant in the past has suffered like others from the ravages of human activity.

The French Research Institute for the Exploitation of the Sea (Ifremer) has yet delivered optimistic conclusions about the survival of this species.

The latter could continue "if conservation and restoration measures are put in place", specifies Ifremer.

It was considered for a long time as an inexhaustible resource, before putting it in danger. Today classified as an endangered species, the flat oyster could survive thanks to the work of scientists, helped by shellfish farming professionals. Undertaken off the coast of Brittany since 2018, research has shown that the introduction of artificial reefs adapted to the species could help the constitution of colonies. In June 2019, three blocks were launched in the bay of Brest (Finistère) and in the bay of Quiberon (Morbihan). Verdict? "Positive results of recolonization".

“Our pilot tests encourage us to favor an ecologically neutral three-dimensional structure (oyster shell style or limestone concrete) intended to promote the establishment of the first individuals.

The solutions tested work but still need to be improved with the idea of ​​a mineral “skeleton” favorable to the species but unfavorable to predators, while remaining compatible with the environmental requirements of coastal environments ”, explains Stéphane Pouvreau, scientific coordinator of this project called Forever (Flat Oyster RecoVERy or rescue of the flat oyster).

Fishing and agriculture also involved

Facilities that will not be enough to save the species if other protective measures are not taken.

Beyond the lack of supports, many factors hampering their development have been highlighted: predators, parasites but also fishing pressure and increased sedimentation from the continent, caused by the mechanization of the agriculture and the artificialization of soils.

Our dossier on endangered species

Ultimately, the flat oyster could also make a comeback on other French coasts such as New Aquitaine but also in the Mediterranean, in the Thau lagoon, in consultation with the work already underway in Corsica.

Society

Brittany: A vast wine project sparks rebellion in Belle-Ile-en-Mer

Society

Secret, unusual or little-known Brittany ... The region tries to "disperse" its tourists to avoid overcrowding

  • Threatened species

  • Ocean

  • Ifremer

  • Peach

  • Reindeer

  • Planet

  • Brest

  • Science

  • Sea

  • Oysters