The oyster farmers forced to close their farms because of sewage pollution five years ago after several episodes of novovirus contamination.
They recently lost a $12 million damages case against the Far North District Council, whose sewage treatment plant they blame for contaminating their shellfish. Now health officials say the Waikare Inlet farms cannot reopen.
The farms used to supply nearly 40% of New Zealand's oyster exports. Northland Regional Council chairman, Mark Farnsworth, says health officials still believe the risk of pollution in the Bay of Islands is too high to export oysters from the Waikare Inlet.
Source: Radio New Zealand