OYSTER farmers in the Narooma district held their breath as the rain continued to fall over recent days.
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Water tests have been sent off with hopes of opening at least Wagonga Inlet at Narooma for harvest by Christmas.
Results for Narooma were expected today Wednesday, but if they came back negative growers only had until Friday to resubmit new tests as the laboratories closed at the end the week until January 5.
If water tests were negative, then no harvesting could take place over the traditionally busy Christmas and New Year period, which would be devastating for local growers.
In other oyster-related news, NSW Department of Primary lndustries have refused an application by a grower to grow triploid or sterile Pacific oysters in Wagonga Inlet.
A letter to the other growers states: “Whilst the environmental aspects of the proposal were addressed adequately in the submission, the proposal has an associated increased risk of Pacific oyster mortality syndrome establishing in Wagonga lnlet if it were approved.
“A clear majority of submissions from stakeholders rate that risk as unacceptable.
Any future application to cultivate triploid Pacific Oyster in Wagonga lnlet would need to show a greater level of support from local oyster growers, who would have to accept the consequences of the estuary being quarantined, before it would be considered.”
It is interesting that Fisheries is interested in keeping POMS out of Wagonga Inlet because wild Pacfiic oysters already exist in the waterway and the catchment management authority has conducted programs to try and eradicate or at least reduce numbers of the feral pest.
Under this thinking, POMS could be a good thing for the inlet.
Triploid oysters had been approved for Wapengo Lake at Batemans Bay, causing similar divisions between oyster farmers.
Meanwhile the rain continued to fall, creating headaches for growers up and down the coast.
The Narooma estuary is closed to harvest when a trigger point of 50mm rain was recorded as was the case when 90mm fell at Narooma on the weekend of December 6, 7.
Growers said the freshwater had just started to back off midweek last week with saltwater levels increasing when more heavy falls started Wednesday night and continued on Thursday.
But growers at Narooma were relatively well off compared to growers to the north and south who had been impacted on by much greater falls of 200mm or more, including at Tuross that remained closed for harvest.