Reply #6: Native oysters are susceptable to a disease that has virtually wiped them out. [View All]

[kristopher]

They've been trying for decades to restore the population with absolutely no success. They've been importing sterile versions of the Japanese oysters for quite a while, but there is a significant effort and expense involved with little benefit to the health of the bay.

I just skimmed the article and it sounds to me like the news article doesn't match the results the author reported in the journal. The journal article makes clear that the risk to public health from both species of oysters is actually very similar when they are contaminated. There are differences in the specific risk profiles, but that is much more nuanced than the news article indicates.

The real focus of the problem of contamination is to get control of the sources of the pollutants. Using that as an argument against introduction of a viable, disease resistant strain seems to me to be a strained argument. I grew up with the Chesapeake as a significant part of my place identity, and with the information I've come across, I tend to favor reinvigorating the bivalve population of the Bay.

The Eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica), native to the
Chesapeake Bay, has been a major shellfish species in the Bay
for the past 3 centuries; however, its population has been devas-
tated over time, beyond the point of restoration, predominantly
due to overharvesting and oyster diseases such as multinucleated
sphere X (MSX) disease (Haplosporidium nelsoni) and Dermo
disease (Perkinsus marinus) (2, 4, 23).

...Although the popularity of seafood is high, concerns have
been voiced worldwide related to health risks from shellfish
contaminated with human waterborne pathogens (32). Con-
sumption of oysters, which are usually eaten raw, can cause
outbreaks of human diseases, especially if the oysters are har-
vested from polluted waters (1, 32).
(P. 3390)

Recovery, Bioaccumulation, and Inactivation of Human Waterborne
Pathogens by the Chesapeake Bay Nonnative Oyster, Crassostrea ariakensis

Thaddeus K. Graczyk,1,2* Autumn S. Girouard,2 Leena Tamang,1 Sharon P. Nappier,1
and Kellogg J. Schwab1

APPLIED AND ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY, May 2006, p. 3390–3395 Vol. 72, No. 5
0099-2240/06/$08.00