| Of the 75 laboratories contacted through the survey, 54 answered, 14 of which are partially or totally devoted to mollusc diseases. In fact, only 4 laboratories are devoted full-time to this work. Of the 14 laboratories that declared to work on the diagnosis of mollusc diseases, 12 stated that they worked with mussels, 12 with oysters, 9 with clams and 8 with other mollusc species. This is coherent with available production information. According to production data in 2001 (FAO source), the main mollusc species in the region are the blue mussel, Mytilus edulis (297,485 tonnes), the Mediterranean mussel, Mytilus galloprovincialis (131,014 tonnes), the Pacific cupped oyster, Crassostrea gigas (127,323 tonnes, an important part of which is produced on the... |
