SEMINAR SUMMARY

by

Alessandro Lovatelli

I. Country reports

Among the Asian countries, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand are all producers of oysters. The status of oyster culture in each of these countries varies considerably although most of them share the same rich pool of suitable species and environments for seafarming. Among these countries oyster culture is more developed in China, Philippines and Thailand, while still at an early stage of development in Indonesia and Malaysia.
In 1985 the production of oyster in the above countries totalled some 75,868 MT (Fig. 1). This value represents over 2.6 % of the world's production of molluses in 1985, which was 2.80 million MT (FAO, 1987). Taking the Asian region, as defined by FAO, this was 3.6 % of the region's mollusc production which was 2.09 million MT. Compared to the total production output of the same countries in 1983, which amounted to 56,821 MT, there was a 15.5 % increase in production in 1984 and about 25.1 % in 1985. The production of oysters by each of the Asian countries for the period 1980–1986 is shown in Table 1.
Most species of oysters under cultivation belong to the genus Crassostrea. The species cultured among the above countries are shown in Table 2.
One significant trend in shellfish mariculture in the region has been the establishment of bivalve hatcheries of varying sizes to meet the growing requirement for oyster seed. Since the early 1980's, pilot hatcheries have been set up in Thailand (Prachuab Khiri Khan Brackishwater Fisheries Station), Malaysia (Bivalve Hatchery Project of the Universiti Sains Malaysia), and in the Philippines (Aquaculture Department of the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Centre or SEAFDEC, and at the Mariculture Centre of the Philippine Human Resources Development Centre, PHRDC). Although these hatcheries have been in operation for several years, oyster seed production is still minimal. Research is currently being undertaken as these facilities are considered crucial to further developing the oyster industry in the region. Another recent trend is the interest among oyster producing countries in developing shellfish depuration techniques. More and more countries recognize the export potential of their shellfish resources and therefore are becoming increasingly concerned about meeting the sanitary quality standards of importing nations. Several pilot depuration plants have been set up in the region, in particular the Philippines, Thailand and Malaysia where health problems due to unhealthy oysters have been recorded. The depuration system widely adopted is the recirculating type utilizing ultraviolet lamps as the source of sterilization.

Figure 1. Cumulative oyster production from China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand from 1980–1986. Data from table 1.

Table 1. Annual production of oysters in the selected Asian countries, 1980–1986. (Values: MT).

Table 2. Status of oyster culture in the selected Asian countries.

a: B = bottom; I = intertidal; S = suspended (raft or rack); R = relaying.
b: C = Crassostrea.
c: O = Ostrea.

II. Future plans

Bivalves represent a valuable food resource and although their culture in the region is not as developed as the culture of fish and shrimp, most countries have a great potential for development. In order to further enhance mollusc culture activities among the less developed countries, regional cooperation on research in various aspects of this seafarming sector is considered essential. Training, research and information exchange are the major activities which should be taken into account.
With regard to the oyster industry in the Asian region it is expected to 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.