Status of the Pacific Oyster Crassostrea gigas (Thunberg, 1793) in the western Limfjord, Denmark - Five years of population development

The Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas, was introduced into the Netherlands in 1964 for aquaculture purposes and has since spread extensively in Northern European waters. Eight locations in the western part of the Limfjord, Denmark, first sampled in 2006 were revisited in 2011, to determine how the population of C. gigas has changed. Densities were lower at all but two locations. No differences in average shell lengths or condition indices were detected. No changes in the number or distribution of shell size classes were observed. These similarities suggest there is a single population that has not expanded in terms of geographic distribution. While reproduction does occur, conditions for population growth appear to be suboptimal. The species has become established in western Limfjord but abundance is low and densities are much lower than those considered harmful to the ecosystem. At present, the C. gigas population is not a cause for concern in the Limfjord ecosystem.