Saturday’s Narooma Oyster festival attracted more than 4000 people, with seafood lovers devouring more than 42,000 oysters on the foreshore of the Wagonga Inlet.

Festival organiser Cath Peachey was thrilled with the success of this year’s event and believed the festival had come of age.

“After 10 years, we’ve hit a new high,” Ms Peachy said.

“We’ve gone from something which is a small, community, volunteer-run effort to something which attracts in excess of 4000 people.”

Ms Peachy was excited about the festival’s growth into a regional produce showcase and and looked forward to many future festivals.

“Oysters are the point of difference, the classic food of the region, a platform that makes us differ,” she said.

“We are showcasing what we’ve got, whether it’s seafood, dairy or our chefs.

“I couldn’t have been any prouder of the South Coast than I was on Saturday.”

Seafood lovers were spoiled for choice at the Narooma Oyster Festival, with the region’s best oyster growers selling their goods in Oyster Alley. 

Farmers from Wagonga Inlet, the Clyde and Shoalhaven rivers and Merimbula, Pambula and Wapengo lakes kept thousands of hungry bellies satisfied with their renowned produce.

The exclusive oyster masterclass proved popular once again, selling out months prior. The Ultimate Oyster Experience treated seafood connoisseurs to an intimate tasting of oysters form local estuaries, with complimenting wines.

Crowds also flocked to cooking demonstrations, where top chefs including Rockpool’s Corey Costelloe and Colin Barker of The Boathouse on Blackwattle Bay, shared their culinary expertise. 

This year’s festival also saw the emergence of a new mascot in ‘Jack' the Clyde River oyster, who is in the running for a Guinness World Record. 

The four-year-old mammoth mollusc weighed in for his official world record submission before an adoring crowd, with the likes of Eden-Monaro MP Dr Mike Kelly and Bega MP Andrew Constance eager to have a hold. The final verdict, however, is not expected for another six weeks.

Capping off the day was the crowd favourite Oyster Shucking Competition, which this year saw the industry’s leading ladies step up to the shucking plate.

Taking out the inaugural women’s shucking prize was the Shoalhaven’s Sally McLean, who followed in the footsteps of father Jim Wild, a former oyster shucking world champion.

This year’s men’s competition was as fiercely contested as ever, with a friendly rivalry unfolding between winner Gerard ‘Doody’ Dennis and runner-up Jim Yiannaros.

Yuin culture was at the heart of the event, with seafood fans eager to taste the delicious offerings of oyster and abalone at a traditional fire pit.

Speaking after the event, spokesperson Cath Peachey said visitors and industry experts alike were blown away.

“From the industry side of things, they thought it was fantastic,” she said.

“John Susman, a leading seafood marketer, said it surpassed anything in Sydney.

“Our farmers are so accessible, so anyone can come and talk to a producer, talk to chef – it's just a very authentic, friendly, accessible festival.

“This is the biggest festival in its accessibility and authenticity, but it’s not so big that it’s lost its appeal.”

As for Ms Peachey’s pick of the day – the oyster and lemon myrtle sorbet.