The effect of off-bottom versus on-bottom oyster culture on total and pathogenic Vibrio spp. abundances in oyster tissue, water and sediment samples International Journal of Food Microbiology

Varying culture methods are commonly used for eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica, aquaculture in the Northeast United States. Vibrio vulnificus and V. parahaemolyticus, two human pathogenic bacteria species, accumulate in this edible, filter feeding shellfish. This study examined the use of two methods in an intertidal area (oysters cultured in trays and in bags on sediment) and two methods in a subtidal area (oysters cultured in trays and loose on the sediment) in Massachusetts over the growing season in 2015. Abundance of total V. vulnificus along with total and pathogenic (tdh+/trh+) V. parahaemolyticus were determined in oysters, sediment and water using real-time PCR. Temperature, salinity, turbidity and chlorophyll were continually measured every 15 min at each location.