Primary Industries and Regions South Australia (PIRSA) has advised that Pacific oyster mortality syndrome (POMS) virus was detected in feral Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) populations in the Port River in Adelaide on 28 February 2018.
While the virus is yet to be found in the commercial oyster farming areas of South Australia, the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) said the detection in Port River represents a substantially heightened risk to South Australia’s AUD 32 million (USD 24.7 million, EUR 20.1 million) oyster growing industry. This is due to the risk of the virus mixing in ballast water and of infected shellfish attaching to biofouling on vessel hulls that are then moved around the state.
AFMA said fishers and boat operators can help stop the spread of POMS by taking precautionary steps, including:
- Ballast water maintenance – avoid the uptake of ballast within the Port River and avoid discharging/exchanging ballast water in oyster growing regions in South Australia, and wherever possible follow the ballast water requirements on the Agriculture Department website
- Clean hulls – having good cleaning practices in place minimizes biofouling and reduces the chance that shellfish carrying POMS will attach to vessels
- Don’t deposit live or dead Pacific oysters (including the shells) in state waters
There are currently import restrictions on bringing oysters into South Australia.
According to PIRSA, POMS is caused by a virus called OsHV-1 micro variant. It causes rapid death and high mortality rates in farmed Pacific oysters (up to 100 percent within days of being detected) and can spread quickly if introduced.
The first Australian case of POMS was recorded in 2010 in New South Wales, with the most recent outbreak in commercially-grown oysters detected in Tasmania in 2016.
There are no human health implications associated with POMS.
