Twelve oyster farms in the Waikare Inlet were closed in 2001 because of water pollution, says NewsTalk.
According to the news agency the farmers sued the Far North District Council for sewerage system failures but lost their case and were ordered to pay the council more than $300,000 in court costs. Bill Guest from the group Farmers of New Zealand says the farmers offered $200,000 and mayor Wayne Brown and his council have forfeited the rest.
Mr Guest says the next step will be to find the cause of failures and get the oyster farms reopened.
Oysters and Council Finally Reach Agreement
AUSTRALIA - Bay of Islands oyster farmers and the Far North District Council have reached a compromise over the bill for court costs.