Research crucial to stop parasite from destroying P.E.I. oyster industry: minister

Prince Edward Island’s fisheries minister says he hopes recently announced federal funding can help develop oysters that are resistant to a parasite that is threatening a fishery vital to the province.

The federal Fisheries Department has committed up to $1 million over the next two years to study the parasite called multinucleate sphere X — or MSX — identified for the first time in Prince Edward Island oysters last month.

Cory Deagle, the P.E.I. minister, told a news conference at the conclusion of a meeting with counterparts from across the country that the parasite could destroy the province’s oyster industry.

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He says a big question is identifying the host that helps transfer MSX from one oyster to another, although he acknowledges the odds of finding that are low since it has evaded researchers for nearly 60 years.

The parasite was found in oysters in P.E.I.’s Bedeque Bay and several other areas in July, leading the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to institute quarantines.

It affects the growth of oysters and kills a large number of them, but it does not present a human health risk.

Deagle also wants research to focus on breeding oysters that have resistance to MSX. “We need resistant oysters that can survive this parasite … so that we can have an industry in the future,” he said.

Harvesters are “facing a 95 per cent mortality rate with our oysters with MSX, which is truly devastating and possibly could wipe out our industry if we don’t respond,” the minister said.

Climate change can affect MSX as well because the parasite thrives in warmer water, he added. “But I think what part of the reality is, we’re going to have to adapt and learn to live with MSX,” he says.