Predador Protecting shellfish farms from attack by gilthead sea bream

Annual shellfish production in Brittany amounts to more than 25,000 tonnes of oysters and 4,000 tonnes of mussels. Since 2008, however, oyster farmers have had to face major instances of excess shellfish mortality, with significant consequences for production management and company profitability. In addition to this important phenomenon, oysters, mussels, clams, cockles, etc. are preyed on along the shore and in deeper water by gilthead sea bream, with the critical period falling between spring and autumn. This predation is particularly prevalent in southern Brittany, where some oyster farmers put their losses at several dozen tonnes per year.

The PREDADOR project is seeking to provide a solution to this problem by using a multidisciplinary study involving shellfish farmers and the research community. The aim is to observe and understand this predation and, at the same time, provide the industry with an effective tool based on an acoustic system, which will repel fish as a way of protecting the shellfish farms, and with physical protection in the form of high-performance barrage nets.

The project will therefore focus on three areas:

- Biological: To improve understanding of gilthead sea bream behaviour and particularly their feeding behaviour,

- Acoustic: To perfect a tool essentially to repel gilthead sea bream and drive them away from shellfish concessions,

- Physical protection for the beds.