Pacific Oyster Survey

The presence of wild populations of the Pacific oyster Crasssostrea gigas
was assessed in eleven regions in Scotland. An extensive, co-ordinated survey programme was undertaken between March and September 2014. Sixty locations were surveyed on the west and east coasts of Scotland using a
standardised protocol and specific factors, previously associated with the presence of C. gigas, were recorded. Sites were chosen based on regions; (i) where ‘wild’ C. gigas had already been found, (ii) where C. gigas was commercially cultivated and (iii) where suitable habitat and environmental
conditions (e.g. summer seawater temperatures and water retention rates)
existed for spawning, thus increasing the probability of the region supporting ‘wild’ populations.