A number of lobsters and crabs have been sent to Wageningen Bioveterinary Research. There they were examined by Marc Engelsma, who specializes in research into fish and shellfish diseases. Engelsma found a number of clues in the lobsters that could possibly point to a cause, but no convincing evidence.
“In two lobsters and in some crabs, the blood was somewhat milky,” says the researcher, “That could indicate a bacterial infection. But we subsequently found no known bacteria or virus that could be the cause. And in the other animals that milky blood count was not the problem again.”
According to Engelsma, the animals supplied did not look unhealthy and an appropriate explanation for the mortality cannot be given. The mortality does not have to be alarming in the long term, says Engelsma, as it often happens that fish or crustaceans die in unusually high numbers, after which the population recovers.
2023-12-08 15:10:17
#Oosterschelde #lobster #mortality #mystery #solved
