2020 - 2023 : ARCHE, a trans-regional project for the Improvement of ReproduCtion for restoration in the flat oyster.

In France, as in many other countries, oyster farming has historically gone through a succession of phases of development, exploitation of stocks and outbreaks of disease. 

The oyster is the flagship product of French shellfish farming, historically, economically and socially. Crassostrea gigas is the most important oyster in the French shellfish market, and to a lesser extent, the flat oyster, Ostrea edulis. 

In the 1970s, the development of oyster farming benefited from technological advances and the success of Crassostrea gigas imports. The history of French oyster farming, however, has seen a succession of successes and failures, highlighting the fragility of shellfish farming in the face of overexploitation of stocks and outbreaks of disease.

Coping with overexploitation of stocks and outbreaks of disease

Our current knowledge of the oyster's reproductive cycle is based on studies carried out in the 1970s. Since then, with a few exceptions from 2000 to 2010, our knowledge has evolved far too little. The lack of molecular and proteomic data on Ostrea edulis reproduction is a hindrance to the development of hatchery production, even though control of the reproductive cycle is at the very heart of the production system for any aquaculture species.

ARCHE for the reconstitution of flat oyster beds

The ARCHE project has several objectives:

• Optimization of routine work in a controlled environment;
  • improvement of flat oyster broodstock maturation via an optimized diet
  • synchronization of flat oyster gametogenesis under controlled conditions using different inducers
  • synchronization of spawning and emission
• Increase the number of families of an emblematic species of our coasts, with a view to sustainable development and diversification of shellfish farms.
  • restoration of natural beds
  • creation of reef structures and environmental monitoring

Partners

The ARCHE project has a budget of almost 1.5 M€ with FEAMP (European Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Fund - Measure 47 Innovation in Aquaculture) co-financing of 75% or 900 k€.

The ARCHE project began on April 01, 2020, for a duration of 36 months.