日本に生息するカキ類の生態と養殖技術

抄録

Oysters are among the most popular seafood products. The family Ostreidae is estimated to comprise 60 oyster species that are widely distributed in coastal waters worldwide. Three genera, Crassostrea, Saccostrea, and Ostrea, contain many important fishery species. The Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas, and the Iwagaki oyster, C. nippona, are the two main species farmed in Japan. The flat oyster, Ostrea denselamellosa, was commonly fished in the Seto Inland Sea and Mikawa Bay until the 1980s. This natural resource has since dwindled and is no longer available on the market. In some areas, Saccostrea mordax and Ostrea circumpicta are also considered edible, but apparently they are not sold on the market. Other species include the small Japanese spiny oyster, Saccostrea kegaki, which inhabits the rocky intertidal zone in western Japan. Thus, there are several species of oysters. This paper provides an overview of the ecology of oysters in Japan and of the techniques used in their aquaculture.