Studies on the Microbial Load in Sea Water, Sediment and Edible Oyster (Saccostrea Cucullata) from Indian Sundarbans

The edible oyster Saccostrea cucullata is widely available in the intertidal zone of coastal and estuarine areas of West Bengal. Now a days culturing of this species has opened the opportunity of alternative livelihood of coastal people. In this context, to evaluate the suitability of oyster harvesting sites and the quality of meat of this species in terms of microbial load, the present study targeted the analysis of microbial load of the ambient environment and the tissue of this edible oyster collected from the Indian Sundarbans. The total bacterial count (TBC), total coliform (TC), fecal coliform (FC) and E.coli of the oyster and its ambient environment were measured from three different stations (Namkhana, Frazergaunge and Sajnekhali) of Indian Sundarbans through standard plate count and MPN method respectively. These stations showed significant variation with respect to microbial load which is reflected in the tissue of this edible oyster. Significant positive correlation was obtained between microbial load of the ambient environment and the tissue of edible oyster. Relatively higher microbial concentration was observed in monsoon season (July to October) compare to other seasons, which may be related to storm water runoff and increased runoff from adjacent land masses.