2008-2009 Guy and Roberts Strangford Lough Crassostrea records

The Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) was introduced into Strangford Lough, Northern Ireland in the 1970s. It was assumed that local environmental conditions would not facilitate successful reproduction. However, in the 1990s there were reports of C. gigas outside licensed aquaculture sites and this investigation set out to ascertain the current distribution, years of likely recruitment and population structure of the species. C. gigas were found distributed widely throughout the northern basin during surveys; the frequency distribution suggesting C. gigas is not recruiting every year. Establishment of feral populations of C. gigas elsewhere have linked to habitat change. A pilot cull was initiated to assess the success rate of early intervention. This paper demonstrates the potential benefits of responding rapidly to initial reports of non-native species in a way that may curtail establishment and expansion. The method advocated in simple and can be recommended to the appropriate regulatory authorities.

太平洋牡蛎（Crassostrea gigas）于20世纪70年代被引入至爱尔兰北部的斯特兰福德湖。当时，人们普遍认为当地的环境条件不利于其成功繁殖。然而，在20世纪90年代，有关C. gigas在获得许可的养殖场之外的报道逐渐增多，本研究旨在确定该物种当前的分布范围、可能的繁殖年份及种群结构。在调查中，C. gigas被发现广泛分布于北部的盆地；频率分布表明C. gigas并非每年都在繁殖。其他地区野生C. gigas群体的建立与栖息地变化有关。一项试点性捕杀行动被启动，以评估早期干预的成功率。本文展示了迅速应对非本地物种初次报告的潜在益处，这或许能够遏制其定植和扩张。所倡导的方法简单易行，并可推荐给相应的监管机构。