Volunteers from the Nature Coast Marine Group joined forces with personnel from DPI (Fisheries NSW), the Marine Parks Authority and the Local Aboriginal Land Council’s Wagonga Rangers on Saturday to eradicate Pacific oysters from sections of Wagonga Inlet in the Batemans Marine Park.

The introduced Pacific oysters can affect the local ecology and are adversely impacting on the native Sydney rock oyster industry.

The Southern Rivers Catchment Management Authority coordinated the working bee, which was followed by a BBQ at the Narooma oyster sheds and prizes for the biggest Pacific oysters and largest number destroyed.

About 5000 Pacific oysters were removed or destroyed during Saturday’s working bee and the volunteers identified further concentrations that need more attention this winter.

Three fish bins were filled with large specimens removed by divers, but most were speared in situ by the shore based teams.

Scuba divers and snorkelers focused on collecting large specimens from the mud under rack and tray native oyster cultures, while shore-based teams led by oyster farmers took advantage of the low tide to destroy Pacifics clinging to rocks and sticks in the intertidal zone, with spears and hammers.

The clean up was done under a permit from the Marine Parks Authority, and is similar to controlling weeds in a national park. Winter is ideal for the eradication, as the Pacific oysters are not in spawning condition, and so eggs and sperm will not be inadvertently released into the water.

Local oyster farmers plan to monitor the effectiveness of the program by checking oyster spat falls later in the year. Past experience is that such programs do work, particularly when the largest Pacific oysters can be removed, as they produce proportionately far more eggs than smaller ones.

Follow up campaigns are planned to target hot spots in the upper reaches of the inlet.

Oyster grower David Maidment said the day was an excellent example of the community and the relevant authorities working together on an environmental issue that affects the ecology of the estuary.

The work was all the more impressive given the area covered was Crown land with different authorities having jurisdiction over the area affected by the pest species, Mr Maidment said.

Anyone interested in joining the Nature Coast Marine Group can contact Bill Barker on 4473 5304 or Andrew Green on 4474 2886.