Japanese tsunami means bonanza for Irish oysters as price trebles

JAPAN’s recent tsunami is delivering an uplift for Irish oyster farmers, ensuring the continuation of the trebling of prices they’ve been enjoying in recent years.

Irish oyster farmers, the second largest oyster producers in the EU, have been getting around €4,000 per ton, up from around €1,250 two years ago. This is largely due to a herpes virus afflicting oyster stocks in France, the EU’s largest producer.

The herpes virus (no relation to the human virus of the same name) has been sustained by warmer French waters. It primarily kills juvenile oysters. The vast majority of Irish stock has made it through to adulthood, thanks to the colder water.

Ireland has increased its production levels in the past two years. Now France has taken a further knock. Its plans to breed a new stock from imported Japanese oyster seeds have been knocked by the recent tsunami.

BIM fisheries expert, Donal Maguire, said: “It is an unfortunate situation, but Irish oyster producers are doing the best business they’ve ever done. They’ve been getting c. €4,000 per ton for the past two years.

“Ireland has had some losses, but nothing like France. It is very much related to water temperature, and the warmer French waters are causing much higher rates of juvenile mortality for the French oysters. Most Irish oysters are surviving into adulthood,” he said.

“By the way, this virus can only live in bi-valve molluscs. The virus cannot transfer to humans, so people should ignore the unfortunate coincidence of the name it shares with the human virus. The virus is perfectly harmless to humans.

“For the past two years the industry has been expanding in Ireland, employing more people and building a great international reputation,” said Mr Maguire.

Ireland produces around 10,000 tons. Some 14 Irish bays were hit by oyster herpes last summer. Juvenile oyster mortality rates varied from 30%-100%, but movement control helped resolve the problem very quickly.

France produces about 125,000 tons of oysters per annum. As a rule, the French market would consume the bulk of this stock. The natural disasters in Japan destroyed the fishing industry in Miyagi prefecture, which produces 80% of Japan’s oyster seeds. This blow may lead to another price jump, a fact which is causing major concern in France.

Speaking to the press agency Bloomberg, Maryline Maingam of France’s National Shellfish Committee, said: “This delays our exit from the crisis. There will still be oysters, but a lot less than before. For the next two years we’ll have 40% to 50% production losses.”

The French eat 108,000 metric tons of the molluscs per annum. Domestic production fell 38% last year, driving up wholesale prices 20%. Some brasseries in Paris sell the largest oysters for €6.50. apiece.

Ray Harty of Dungarvan Shellfish Ltd said: “We produce around 700 tons a year right now, and we hope to grow to 1,000 tons in the next few years. Around 98% of our oysters are exported to France, with a little also going to Italy. There’s no market for oysters in Ireland.

“We’re producing for the quality end of the market. Our oysters are in the top 10% sold in France, where they’re called ‘Spéciale’. They’re grown faster and have a better shape. We sold over 600 tons into France last year, and we could have sold double that if we had them. The price seems to be jumping the whole time.”