EIGHT years, four months and three weeks … that is how long Debbie and John Lindsay have been waiting for the Kalang River to reopen to oyster harvesting, following its closure due to norovirus in July, 2008.
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And while the announcement late yesterday was indeed welcome, their joy was tempered by the financial and emotional toll taken on them and their family.
“As good as it is, it should never have taken this long,” John said.
“The Bellingen Council should have ensured that homes near the river were sewered according to State Government legislation much sooner … and I am indebted to Matt Fanning (Deputy General Manager Operations) for finally nailing the process.”
John said he was ready to start harvesting immediately and will be doing so out of what is arguably one of the cleanest rivers in NSW.
“The water is perfect and the oysters are beautiful and being the only grower who is left on the river will have some advantages.”
On the downside, recovery will not be immediate – having cut staff and been unable to maintain all his leases, there is plenty to do to get back up to full production … plus a large percentage of stock was lost to QX virus five years ago.
John estimates there will be an intense couple of years ahead.
On hand to congratulate the couple, as well as listen to John’s vented frustration, were Bellingen Shire mayor Dominic King and General Manager Liz Jeremy.
“This is a huge relief and a fantastic outcome – it is important for the community … you need to have a river with the appropriate management of waste water,” Mrs Jeremy said.
“It is however no comfort to anyone that it has taken this long.
“It has been a complicated matter all the way along. It was not like the Wallis Lake incident (that brought the entire industry there to its knees in 2005) where there was a point source of pollution. Here there was no smoking gun, there were multiple issues and each one had to be worked through and addressed.
“And then the testing by the NSW Food Authority has been necessarily rigourous and has not been helped by the weather.”
The mayor said a healthy oyster industry was an indicator of river health and a huge bonus for the tourism industry locally.
“While I was not on the council when this issue began, I have been part of some tough decisions and feel the council did the best it could,” Cr King said.
“We’ve fixed what was a broken system to ensure a sustainable future for the industry.”
Looking John straight in the eye, he said “I can assure you we’ll make sure it stays right into the future”.
* Christmas seafood orders can be made in person at Lindsays Oyster Barn, Pacific Hwy, Urunga.