Recent reports have claimed warming waters have the potential to devastate the Clyde River oyster industry but growers say more data needs to be collected before the potential impact can be properly assessed, says Kerri-Anne Mesner of the Bay Post.
The oyster industry earned $3.9 million in the 2006/07 financial year, according to the Department of Primary Industries’ Aquaculture Production Report.
According to the Bay Post, recent media reports about CSIRO study - Implications of Climate Change for Australian Fisheries and Aquaculture - have said the Sydney rock oyster industry would be at risk over the next few decades.
The CSIRO report said south-east fisheries were most likely to be affected by changes in water temperature as the climate gets warmer.
Oyster Farming Heating Up
AUSTRALIA - More research needs to be done before local oyster growers can ascertain the level of risk climate change poses to the lucrative industry.