Emerging disease in wild shellfish populations

The workshop focuses on emerging diseases in different bivalve populations with commercial or ecological interest.

Wild populations of bivalves play a key role in coastal ecosystems and some species can be a resource for fishermen or bivalve producers. Unfortunately, several species have experienced important mortality these last years including the endangered and protected pen shell Pinna nobilis, cockles Cerastoderma edule or black scallops Mimachlamys varia.

Investigating the mortality of such populations is usually challenging. Indeed, mortality is not always easy to observe and monitor, the number of animals to be tested should sometimes remain as small as possible –particularly for endangered species, mortality usually have multifactorial causes, and multidisciplinary approach is needed to properly decipher these emerging diseases. The workshop aims at addressing these different issues through several examples of research studies carried out these last years.

This workshop brings together international experts to assess the impacts of these epizootics and explore strategies to mitigate their effects on marine ecosystems.