Serious Eats
Baby Oysters Are Mysteriouly Dying Off in France
First honey bees, then snails, now this? Baby oysters are mysteriously dying by the millions along the French coast from Normandy to the Mediterranean, in what has become the worst crisis to hit the French oyster industry in 30 years.
There's speculation that warmer sea temperatures have generated more plankton and baby oysters are dying from eating too much of the tiny organisms. But that doesn't add up: why would adolescent and adult oysters remain unaffected? Why are some oyster beds completely killed off while others remain immune?
The impact on the French oyster industry could be devastating. Officials are assessing ways to change the harvesting process in the next several seasons, and the French government is expected to give emergency aid to oyster producers for new oyster "larva." While oyster-eating humans aren't at risk, the French Food Safety Agency is taking a closer look.