The oysters produced in the Ria de Alvor and Vale da Lama (and beyond) have almost all died, causing millions of euros in losses to those who raise them. A mortality that, for the nurseries of Lagos and Alvor, was not well explained by the competent authorities, so they are not willing to invest again in strength, until they are sure that they can prevent the situation from happening again.
Rui Ferreira, responsible for the Ostraselect nurseries, in Vale da Lama, Odiáxere, municipality of Lagos, is one of the affected producers and does not hide his dismay in the face of a situation that called into question about a year and a half of work and caused him losses «above million euros”, since he had “200 or so tons of commercial oysters” almost ready to “harvest”. The person responsible for the farm where the most oysters are produced, in the Algarve, spoke with the Sul Informação, tracing a dark scenario, not only in the present, but also for the future.
“We had mortality levels of around 98 percent in the commercial oyster, which is almost all exported to France. This, at bottom, is a total loss. In the smallest, the mortality was in the 75 to 80 percent. And it's not just here, the oyster is also dying in Sagres [offshore] and there are already reports of quite high mortality in Ria Formosa and Aveiro», he said.
According to the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere (IPMA), the death of oysters is linked to the herpes virus, which has already affected oyster populations before. An explanation that does not convince Rui Ferreira, since the nurserymen ordered tests to be carried out in France “which did not detect the presence of the virus”. “It is easy for the administration to point the finger at the virus, which was already known to exist. But, even if it were, the mortality would never be so high», he assured.
For the Algarve oyster producer, the problem will be deeper and will be linked to environmental factors. One of them is pollution. “Until this year, we had never had our Ria de Alvor bivalves banned because of biological contamination. At this time, it cannot be sold, as the bacteria e. coli. For me, it's pollution,” he said.
On the other hand, «there was a predominance of southerly winds during the summer, which is unusual». This led to a change in the dynamics of the currents, “which came closer to the coast” and may have brought with them harmful agents that normally do not reach the Ria de Alvor.
“Before, there was already some mortality in the first summer, but almost all that could withstand this period survived to the end. This time, they died at any time. There is something here that is causing this. There are no more slimes and algae and the razor clam is also disappearing», he added.
“Things have to change, I don't see myself doing everything the same in the future. We have to know why the oysters died, otherwise it's not worth the investment», he considered. This information is also crucial for trying to obtain some type of compensation, although Rui Ferreira does not have much hope of being compensated for the considerable losses he suffered.
On the contrary, as it may, like all those affected by the mortality, have an additional cost: that of destroying the husks. These were considered, in a recent notice of the General Directorate of Food and Veterinary (DGAV), as a by-product of production, equivalent to industrial waste, which obliges the nurserymen in Alvor to incinerate them, with the costs that this entails.
“To incinerate the husks, I have to hire a company. On my part alone, this would require an investment of 150 thousand euros. It's not justified, there's nothing in the shells anymore, it's just limestone, it can be used for many things, even for paving paths or even to give to chickens. It doesn't need to be burned», said Rui Ferreira.
At this moment, and without this extra expense, the company that manages is already going through difficulties, having been forced to «dismiss two of the four workers to the unemployment fund», due to the death of the oysters.
In the midst of misfortune, the Algarve nurseryman still reserves some space for hope. This is because one of the people who was most concerned about the situation faced by producers in Alvor was the then deputy to the Assembly of the Republic José Apolinário, who is currently the Secretary of State for Fisheries in the new PS government.
A strong ally, he even made a presentation to the PSD/CDS-PP management government a few days before the announcement of the nomination of António Costa, whose government he joined. In other words, there was the curious situation of a deputy making an exposition to himself.
José Apolinário spoke with the Sul Informação on the day he was sworn in as secretary of state and assured him that he will pay special attention to a problem he knows very well. “We are going to try, as soon as possible, to find a solution. I think we can have the question of what to do with the shells resolved within a few weeks», he considered.
The solutions that José Apolinário pointed out, in the presentation made to the then Secretary of State for Mar Pedro do Ó Ramos, involved the permission “to deposit the bark in landfill or even on a dirt road, without the obligation to incinerate”.
With regard to the mortality, and having just arrived in the Government, he asked for a few days to find out about the facts, although he admits that "it is necessary to see what the different entities can do". In the document that he had prepared, as a deputy, José Apolinário asked the IPMA to prepare “a preliminary report on the possible causes of the deaths and, consequently, definition of a strategy for the future between the responsible official entities and the producers to mitigate the identified risks or problems ».
For Rui Ferreira, one of the measures that will have to be taken will be the implementation of a monitoring system for the Ria, namely at an environmental level. A system that producers are willing to invest in, but only when they know what caused the oysters to die in the season that is now ending.
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