2010/761 Training in Vibrio methods and risk management

By Judith Fernandez-Piquer

This project was a CRC travel grant and involved a series of training activities for improved knowledge of the Vibrio monitoring and risk management in oysters which were conducted in Ocean Springs-Biloxi, Mississippi and Dauphin Island, Alabama, USA in November 2010.

The outcomes of this trip were specifically:

1. Demonstrating to an international audience involving researchers and policy makers that seafood illness-causing Vibrio parahaemolyticus (Vp) grows differently depending on the oyster species, including showing that SRO does not support Vp growth at storage temperatures as high as 28ºC.
2. Presenting the Vp model developed in Australian oysters at the international Vibrios in the Environment (VE2010) conference and at the FDA Gulf Coast Seafood Laboratory (GCSL)
3. Receiving training on the use of a risk management tool to predict Vp densities at harvest sites
4. Obtaining feedback from international experts and knowledge of other international studies for improvement of the discussion of the CRC Vibrio project (2007/719)
5. Training on methodologies for Vibrio detection and enumeration at the GCRL and at the GCSL
6. Learning about the management strategies used for the BP oil spill in Gulf of Mexico.
7. Receiving an update about the USA oyster industry

This trip was a great opportunity for the student to learn about new Vibrio methodologies and techniques that are not currently available in Australia but could be implemented to improve the management of Vibrio in oysters. Communicating Seafood CRC Vibrio research with the Australian oyster industry to an international audience has provided a better understanding about the need for different risk management polices depending on country and also the oyster species. The overall feedback about the presented Vp research was positive and new projects involving Sydney Rock Oysters are proposed.