A Narooma oyster grower has reported to police that up to 300 baskets of oysters, each containing up to 75 Sydney rock oysters, have gone missing from his leases over the past month.
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This equates to a staggering 1800 dozen of oysters, an amount that has other local growers scratching their heads.
The oysters belonged to a new grower who had recently moved from interstate to Narooma and purchased the leases and operation.
Fellow Narooma oyster grower David Maidment said it was suspicious that such a huge number of oysters had gone missing.
“The worrying thing is that you would have to know that these oysters were of harvestable size and also that someone would know how to get rid of this quantity of oysters,” he said.
The oysters went missing from leases at the top of Wagonga Inlet sometime between Monday, June 26 and Wednesday, July 12. Police are hoping someone saw something and any information can be passed on anonymously to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Mr Maidment said he himself had 20 baskets stolen from his own lease about six weeks ago, and has since placed extra signage on his leases warning of the penalties of stealing oysters.
He said oyster theft was thankfully relatively uncommon on leases at the inlet, but there were thefts every now and then, particularly during holidays and summer.
Authorities last Christmas warned illegal seafood sales, particularly black market oysters, would be in the spotlight again over that holiday period.
NSW DPI Director Fisheries Compliance Pat Tully at the time said DPI Fisheries, DPI Biosecurity and Food Safety, and NSW Police would be targeting illegal sales as part of the then ongoing Operation Trident.
The operation included covert and overt patrols and inspections across NSW, and was designed to detect and deter oyster theft and protect consumers against potentially unsafe black market produce.
NSW DPI Director Biosecurity and Food Safety Compliance Peter Day said at the time that black market oysters may not come from areas covered by the NSW Shellfish Program and so may put consumers at serious risk.
“NSW DPI recommends people only buy oysters from reputable retailers as these oysters have been monitored for their safety,” he said.
“Oysters that haven’t undergone the usual tests to food safety, or haven’t undergone the purification procedures applied to commercial product are a serious health risk; they can make you very sick.”
Anyone with information on suspected oyster theft or marine-related crimes should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000, or use the Crime Stoppers online reporting page: www1.police.nsw.gov.au. Illegal fishing can be reported to Fishers Watch on 1800 043 536.
Stan Gorton
Walkley-nominated journalist based at The Islander on Kangaroo Island with an interest in the local community and the environment.
Walkley-nominated journalist based at The Islander on Kangaroo Island with an interest in the local community and the environment.
