Batemans Bay oyster farmers on the Clyde River are busy harvesting oysters for the first time since February after months of wet weather closed the estuary.
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The 18 oysters farmers on the Clyde River were all prevented from harvesting in February after torrential rain drastically altered the salinity levels of the estuary to below the level established as safe by the NSW Food Authority.
Batemans Bay Oysters director Jim Yiannaro last harvested oysters on February 24. Until last weekend, he had not sold an oyster since then.
On Saturday April 23 the waters of the Clyde River were officially deemed safe for harvesting to recommence, and Mr Yiannaro has been flat out since then with stock "flying out the door".
He said buyers were desperate for the product, and he was shipping trucks to Sydney daily to deliver oysters to Sydney Fish Market.
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"It looked like we weren't going to have product for the Oyster Festival," Mr Yiannaro said. "There were huge questions about local estuaries missing out on the festival.
"Now we will be there."
Since February, Mr Yiannaro has had oysters waiting - pre-graded - in the water to be harvested. However the long exposure to fresh water killed as much as 80 per cent of some stock storage baskets.
He said all the usual labour of farming continued during this period without the income provided by oyster sales.
Many oyster farmers on the river had to lay-off staff during the two month selling hiatus. Some of these businesses are now struggling to re-employ staff who have found other work.
"Some farmers couldn't afford to retain staff after COVID and the river closure," Mr Yiannaro said. "Now they don't have enough staff to harvest."
Local oyster farmers missed the annual Easter increase in demand for their product.
"Everyone is looking forward to seafood at Easter," Mr Yiannaro said. "We weren't able to do that."
He said retailers bore the cost for this.
"The market is so strong, farmers will be able to sell everything they have, despite missing out on Easter," he said.
"Local retail outlets will not get that trade back."
The Clyde took especially long to reset to normal salinity levels because of the huge amount of rain that has fallen in the large catchment area: the Clyde River catchment extends north from Batemans Bay to the area west of Ulladulla. The nature of Batemans Bay is such that the bay does not flush out quickly.