Oyster Harvesters appear before Legislature Committee

Harvesters from Prince Edward Island’s oyster industry are worried a spreading parasite will destroy their livelihoods.  Industry representatives told a legislature committee hearing the spread in the province is threatening the future of the sector.  The parasite targets both wild and cultured oysters and typically kills about 95 per cent of affected mollusks within two to three years of the initial infection.  One representative says the oyster industry in the U-S is successfully managing the spread of M-S-X, adding there is no reason the province can’t do that, too.