Oyster Disease Update

11 April 2000

Further testing of the Foveaux Strait oyster fishery has confirmed that the current outbreak of the oyster disease Bonamia is confined to a single oyster bed in the north west of the fishery.

Over 3,000 oysters from 71 sites across Foveaux Strait have been tested for Bonamia by the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) over the past two weeks. The results show that Bonamia remains at low levels outside of the area where the outbreak was first identified last month.

The oyster fleet has already taken a number steps to reduce the risk of spreading Bonamia to other oyster beds, including avoiding the affected area.

While at this stage it appears unlikely that the outbreak will spread significantly in the immediate future, the Ministry of Fisheries will be discussing the survey results with fishery stakeholders over the next few days, to determine if any other management measures are required.

Ends

Contact for enquiries: