Police believe the people behind a “significant” theft of up to 100,000 oysters on the NSW far south coast could have ties to the industry.
The juvenile Sydney rock oysters were reportedly stolen from leases from two separate oyster businesses in Narooma during October.
Detective Sergeant Michael Calleja from the NSW Police Rural Crime Prevention team said while there were reports of oyster theft “from time to time” on the NSW south coast, he had not witnessed oyster theft of this scale in recent years.
“It’s not an incident where a few bags have been taken for human consumption,” he said.
Sergeant Calleja said none of the juvenile oysters were yet ready for human consumption.
“It does lean towards a person that may be involved in industry that has taken these oysters,” he said.
“They were not ready to be sold, so they may have taken them for the purposes of growing them out.”
Millions of oysters are harvested in the NSW far south coast each year. (ABC South East NSW: Floss Adams)
One oyster business has reportedly lost about 72,000 smaller oysters with a shell size of about 8mm.
Meanwhile, a second business in Narooma has had more than 24,000 juvenile oysters with a shell length of approximately 40mm stolen from its lease.
Sydney rock oysters are commonly harvested when they reach an average shell length of 65 to 77mm.
Sergeant Calleja said the stolen oysters from the second business weighed up to 150 kilograms and would have “taken a bit of time” to remove from the water.
“It wouldn’t be something that would be done in five to 10 minutes,” he said.
Oysters could triple in value
Pambula oyster farmer Andy Baker said the the theft was “fairly significant” and the losses in production and opportunity cost would hurt the affected farmers.
NSW oyster growers have faced the challenges of disease and increasing water temperatures this year. (ABC South East NSW: Floss Adams)
He estimated the losses would be valued between $10,000 and $20,000.
“The smaller 8mm oysters would sell for three to five cents an oyster at that stage … and the 40mm oyster could be around 40 cents each,” Mr Baker said.
Mr Baker said the current value of the juvenile oysters could triple if someone were able to grow them out to full size.
“Over time they can turn that theft into a pretty significant profit,” he said.
“Someone here is going to feel the loss of that theft and someone out there, I hope, can’t sleep at night.”
Notable suppliers involved
Australia’s Oyster Coast has been confirmed as one of the two businesses to have had oysters stolen from its Narooma leases.
The South Coast Police District Rural Crime Prevention Team is investigating the theft of oysters on the NSW coast. (ABC South East NSW: Floss Adams)
The company is Australia’s largest producer of food-grade Sydney rock oysters and has seven farms along the NSW coast in estuaries — from Hastings River to Merimbula.
“The theft has been reported and we are working with authorities on this matter,” Australian Oyster Coast said in a statement.
“This incident is a good reminder to help protect our NSW oyster industry by reporting any suspicious activity on oyster leases.”
NSW oyster growers have faced the challenges of disease and increasing water temperatures this year.
According to police, there have been no other recent oyster thefts in the region and investigations are ongoing.
