Institutional development · Sustainability and civic impact · Brazil
Unesp project teams up with Cananeia oyster farmers to fight Asian oyster invasion
A Unesp project unites researchers, environmental agencies and oyster farmers in the Cananeia region to develop ways of controlling an invasive Asian oyster on the São Paulo coast.
Why it matters: Oyster farmers and families in the Cananeia region who depend on harvesting the native oyster are partners in a Unesp project to control the invasive species.
Unesp (São Paulo State University) reported that it has joined traditional communities to combat an invasion of Asian oysters on the São Paulo state coast.
According to the university, the project brings together researchers, environmental bodies and oyster farmers from the Cananeia region to develop strategies for controlling the exotic species.
Unesp said the invasive oyster threatens mangrove biodiversity and the livelihoods of families who rely on harvesting the native mollusc.
Editor’s view
Abigail Taylor, Leadership and Governance Editor
The project directly involves Cananeia-area oyster farmers and families who depend on the native oyster; if the control strategies it is developing prove effective, they are intended to protect both mangrove biodiversity and those families' livelihoods.
