Have a stash of oysters? They may be a better hedge against inflation than gold. Herpes virus has struck the Pacific Oyster breed. Tag that onto pollution destroying oyster beds in bays to the oily goo settling on oyster beds in the gulf and oyster production is falling precipitously.
Whitstable was an area that was famous for it’s oyster catches, but this year they imported their delicacy from Ireland mostly
Not to worry, you can’t get Herpes from eating oysters – but the virus could spread into the wild and threaten the whole oyster farming community.
The Telegraph reports farmers are reporting high death rates among stocks.
“Oysters are dead in Whitstable. A lad goes out all day at sea and he might only get a couple of hundred. And unless we can eradicate the Pacific oysters and start again, there isn’t really a future. They have become wild and are everywhere. They are like grey squirrels, taking over.”
says Graham West, an oyster fisherman.
Photo by adactio: “A Pacific oyster”
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