3 month oyster farm shutdown has silver lining
Three months ago oyster farmers at Pitt Water in southern Tasmania shutdown their harvesting due to heavy rains washing animal manure from farms into the coastal estuaries.
Past events have lasted two weeks or so but local oyster growers say they have never seen an extended closure like this.
James Calvert, a local grower, says he normally had product going to the market on a weekly basis so he is experiencing some cash flow issues. He says, however, that it is not all bad news as Tassie oysters will not have competition from the mainland when harvesting is resumed.
"Because a lot of Tasmania's been closed for a long time, NSW and South Australia have had the domestic market all to themselves," he was cited as saying.
"So they've been pumping out large volumes [and] they're running out rapidly.
"We expect the market to open right up for us. That's the positive out of all of this."
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