UFSC leads international network to improve oyster health
Through two international projects, a research network will investigate the health of oysters farmed in Florianópolis and identify possible causes of mortality (Photo: CCB/UFSC)
A pioneering research network involving the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC) and institutions in France and Chile is launching a major project aimed at improving oyster health. The goal is to identify pathogens potentially involved in oyster mortality during the summer and to help develop preventive farming strategies aligned with the One Health concept.
At UFSC, 13 researchers from the School of Biological Sciences (CCB), the School of Agricultural Sciences (CCA), and the School of Health Sciences (CCS) will take part in the network, along with a collaborator from the Universidade Federal da Paraíba (UFPB). International partners include the universities of Montpellier and Perpignan, Ifremer (a French ocean research institute), and the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), in France; and the Pontifical Universidad Católica de Valparaíso (PUCV), the Universidad Católica del Norte (UCN) and the Centro de Estudios Avanzados en Zonas Áridas (CEAZA), in Chile. In total, about 30 researchers will participate in the network activities. The network will also include postdoctoral fellows and master’s and doctoral students from five UFSC graduate programs: Aquaculture, Biotechnology and Biosciences, Biochemistry, Pharmacy, and Food Sciences.
Researchers participating in the network during the launch of the initiative, held in May in Florianópolis (Photo: CCB/UFSC)
The work will center on two major international research projects: EcoHealth4Sea – International Consortium on One Health Applied to Coastal Ecosystems, funded by CNRS, and Sentinels – Ecological Health in Coastal Marine Environments Used for Oyster Farming, funded by the Capes/Cofecub Program, which supports joint Brazil-French research. UFSC will host the Brazilian headquarters for the initiative in an international laboratory to be established at the School of Biological Sciences (CCB). The effort also has support from the Research and Innovation Support Foundation of the State of Santa Catarina (Fapesc): the DiagnOSTRA project was approved under Call for Proposals 21/2024 (Universal Research Program), enabling the acquisition of consumables and equipment.
One Health
Professor Rafael Diego da Rosa, from CCB, researches oyster immunogenetics and is one of the partnership coordinators. He explains that aquaculture is an economic activity highly impacted by emerging or existing marine pathogens, such as viruses and bacteria, which affect not only farmed animals but also the human populations that depend on these ecosystems.
One Health applied to coastal ecosystems means looking at the health of the entire environment, not just humans or other isolated species. “Oysters are sentinel organisms. Because they filter large volumes of water, they accumulate everything present in it. So studying oysters also means studying water quality and the overall health of the marine ecosystem,” he explains.
Oyster spat of the Magallana gigas species produced at the UFSC Marine Molluscs Laboratory (Photo: CCB/UFSC)
According to Professor da Rosa, the causes of high mollusc mortality during the hottest months of the year — a phenomenon similar to that studied in other oyster-farming countries — are not yet fully understood. Since the 1990s, when farming of the Japanese oyster Magallana gigas (formerly Crassostrea gigas) began in Santa Catarina through the Marine Molluscs Laboratory at UFSC, high mortality rates have been observed during the summer, with losses reaching up to 50% of production, according to data from the Santa Catarina State Agricultural Research and Rural Extension Agency (Epagri-SC). Possible causes include predation, pathogen infections, pollution, or limited resistance to environmental stressors such as temperature, salinity and PH fluctuations.
Investigation
Over the coming years, UFSC researchers will conduct sampling and analyses of oysters farmed in Florianópolis’ North and South Bays to determine whether the mortality causes resemble those found in Europe. There, research has identified polymicrobial infections known as Pacific Oyster Mortality Syndrome (POMS) as the main cause of oyster mortality, with Vibrio bacteria and the oyster herpesvirus OsHV-1 recognized as the principal etiological agents.
“Because these are very distant locations with different environmental conditions, it is possible that here the situation will be different, with mortality caused by other infectious factors, such as viruses and bacteria distinct from those found in Europe, or by some aspect related to climate change,” explains Professor da Rosa. The network will exchange information to identify common phenomena and seek solutions to ensure oyster health, preventing losses and the spread of pathogens that may affect other organisms.
Oyster farming overview
Oyster samples will be collected from farms in the North and South bays, such as those in Ribeirão da Ilha (Photo: CCB/UFSC)
Brazil ranked as the world’s 13th largest aquaculture producer in 2024 – an industry covering molluscs, fish, crustaceans, algae, and other commercial species. In 2022, global fishing and aquaculture production reached a record high in aquaculture production of aquatic animals, surpassing capture fisheries for the first time, according to data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The organization recognizes aquaculture production as a key solution for improving food and nutritional security, alleviating poverty, and driving socioeconomic development, especially in coastal communities. The sector employed approximately 61 million people in 2022.
The state of Santa Catarina is Brazil’s leading producer of oysters, scallops and mussels, accounting for 93.2% of national production in 2023, according to data from Epagri. The main oyster farms are located in the municipalities of Florianópolis, Palhoça, and São José. In 2023, the state produced 1,731 tons of oysters, 98.5% of which were Magallana gigas, with the remainder consisting of native species such as Crassostrea gasar.
Ana Paula Lückman | ana.paula.luckman@ufsc.br
Agecom Journalist | UFSC
Translated by SINTER/UFSC.
Read the original article here.
