La conchyliculture en Méditerranée française

Until now, French Mediterranean shellfish culture was only carried out at relatively sheltered sites: some salted lagoons in Languedoc-Roussillon and Corsica and in the roadsted of Toulon The shellfish culture area of the Thau lagoon spreads out over about 1,200 hectares, that of Leucate over 140 hectares; in Corsica, shellfish farming is carried out on small rafts distributed among the different lagoons (around 80 in Diana and 50 in Urbino). In the roadsted of Toulon, most of the farms are about to close down. According to official figures, the Mediterranean production amounts to about 10,000 tonnes. In reality, the Thau lagoon production alone amounts to, at least, double this tonnage (HAMON et TOURNIER, 1981). It corresponds to at least 90 % of the total, and this total accounts for 12 to 15 % of French shellfish production. Each farm produces both oysters and mussels in very different proportions. Concerning oysters, it seems paradoxical that the only indigenous species Ostrea edulis is practically not cultivated anymore in the Mediterranean Sea. This disaffection for the flat oyster is the consequence of the massive mortality which struck farmed molluscs in 1950-1951...