The oyster industry of the South East Asian countries considered will certainly expand as there is plenty of room for expansion, labour is still relatively cheap and foreign markets remain unsaturated or untapped. However, to realize the potentials of the industry, attention to its most serious problems should be faced and dealt with. Those requiring most urgent attention are environmental pollution, sanitary quality control, training of technical personnel, and market development. The future of oyster seafarming in the region will depend to a great extent on how successful market development efforts are. Product diversification and quality control will have to be the main activities in order to achieve product introduction and acceptance. New markets outlets should be developed, however, reliable supply of products of consistent quality must be guaranteed. A reliable supply of oysters in turn necessitates reliability of seed supply to the farmers. Careful monitoring as well as enhancement of natural seed resources along with the supply of artificially propagated seed will be needed.
