The aquaculture of the oyster Crassostrea gigas is largely based on natural recruitment of the species on spat collectors along the french Atlantic coast, the remaining spat being provided by hatcheries and nurseries. Due to an increase in the climate/meteorological variability, during the last twenty years, the natural spat collection has become variable, from null to overabundant depending on the year. Since 2008, the oyster spat mortalities worsen the situation, reducing the available spat and increasing the cost of the latter. However, the temporal variability of the natural recruitment modalities in the Mediterranean do not allow the aquaculture industry to rely on native spats, making the understanding of natural recruitment in the Mediterranean a challenge for the future in order to fit the professional needs.