The oyster market - France (2023)

1.1 Definition of the oyster market :

According to the Larousse the oysters are " bivalve marine molluscs, edible, fixed to sea rocks by a valve in their shell, which are farmed (oyster farming) in parks and whose species (Belon, Portuguese, etc.) are mainly eaten during the "r" months (September to April), outside the breeding period »

The first cultures of flat oysters developed as early as the 17th century in France, taking advantage of the loss of the role of salt as a currency, which then freed the salt marshes [ stephanedecotterd.com ] . Spat (larvae) resources were exhausted in France as early as 1850. Portuguese hollow oysters then became the majority in France (up to 80% of the production in 1960). Decimated by a disease in the 1970s, it has been replaced by the Japanese hollow oyster since then. The latter remains the most cultivated oyster in France today. There are two main types of oysters, the flat and the hollow. Since 2008, a new epizootic disease has been affecting young French oysters The oyster farming activity is therefore subject to strong risks that impact its economy.

Oyster farming makes part of the shellfish farming business which refers to the farming of any edible shellfish: mussels, oysters, cockles, clams, scallops, abalones. More broadly, oysters are commonly classified as seafood (molluscs and crustaceans) The oyster market is therefore a sub-segment of the seafood market and more broadly of the aquatic products market .