Oyster is consumed worldwide. It is a delightful and nutritious food taken in a variety of forms: fresh, frozen, canned and dried as well as juice.
By popularizing the hanging culture method since the early 1960s, the culture practices appropriate to a region have been gradually evolved and established. At present, most of the oyster production comes from long-line culture. In Korea, the Pacific Oyster (C. gigas Korean kang-gul (C. rivularis), Korean pawit-gul (C. nippona), spiny oyster (C. echinata) and the densely lamellated oyster (C. denselamellosa) are grown. Among these, the Pacific oyster is the main species for commercial farming.
In 1986, the Korean oyster culture industry showed there were 10,736 hectares of licensed growing water and a production of 255,000 metric tons shell-on, or a per-hectare yield of about 23.75 metric tons. Oyster production was 25 to 30 percent of total mariculture output in the 1980s, compared to 50 to 60 percent in the 1960s. Most of the processed Oysters and some of the fresh produce are exported to North America, Japan, Southeast Asia, Middle East and other countries.
The purpose of this Manual is to extend the technology of oyster culture to farmers and extension workers. It covers the biology, theory and practice of oyster culture, and the findings from applied research and field studies. It also includes processing.
