Oyster greening by outdoor mass culture of the diatom Haslea ostrearia Simonsen in enriched seawater

Oyster greening was first described in the seventeenth century as a natural phenomenon. However, it has recently been discovered that the diatom Haslea ostrearia Simonsen causes greening by synthesis of a blue pigment designated as ‘marennine’. This phenomenon, which involves massive proliferation of H. ostrearia in oyster ponds, was not understood or controlled by oyster farmers in the Marennes‐Oléron region (Atlantic coast of France). As greening oysters improved their market value, they tried to develop empirical methods to guarantee oyster fattening and improve profits. In this context, the present study investigated the feasibility of mass culture of diatoms outdoors in 10‐m3 ponds, using enriched seawater. Different biotic and abiotic parameters were monitored daily to determine the influence of the day–night temperature range. After 8 days, H. ostrearia was the dominant diatom species (66%), reaching a mean cell concentration of 2 × 105 cell mL−1 and a marennine concentration of 3.4 mg L−1. Although intensive greening was obtained, further studies are required to optimize the production stages before this technology can be transferred to oyster farmers.