Download FAR 2015/73 A survey of the Foveaux Strait oyster (Ostrea chilensis) population (OYU5) in commercial fishery areas and the status of bonamia (Bonamia exitiosa) in February 2015

The February 2015 Foveaux Strait survey was the second in a new time-series of bonamia and oyster surveys incorporating a fully randomised, two-phase design, and the same survey area and strata. Recruit-sized oysters declined by 35% and pre-recruits by 40% since 2014, and numbers of small oysters remained low. The summer mortality from bonamia was 13.1%, down from 18.3% in 2014. Heightened bonamia mortality and continued low recruitment is expected to result in a downward trend in the population.