Overview of oyster culture : present status and prospects

The world oyster production is about one million tonnes per annum and the leading oyster poducing countries are U.S.A., Japan, Republic of Korea and France. There is world wide interest in increased supplies of oysters as the shellfish is a delicacy and command a high price. As in the case of other bivalve molluscs culture practices have to be adopted for augmenting production of oysters from natural beds for effecting regular supplies without depleting the natural resources. In view of this, oysters are cultured in several western countries and some countries in the Far East. As much as 12 % of world production from aquaculture is accounted for by oyster culture