Active management is required to turn the tide for depleted stocks from the effects of overfishing, disease and invasive species.

The decline of the European oyster across its biogeographic range has been driven largely by over-fishing and anthropogenic habitat destruction, often to the point of functional extinction. However, other negatively interacting factors attributing to this catastrophic decline include disease, invasive species and pollution. In addition, a relatively complex life history characterized by sporadic spawning renders biologically vulnerable to overexploitation.