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The dash for the first Bluff oysters of the season is becoming a stampede after Niwa scientists and fishers reported that the first shellfish taken are the largest and healthiest they have seen for years.
But the increased cost of fuel and wages in getting the oysters to market could push the price up by a dollar a dozen, supermarkets warn.
Early samples from the Foveaux Strait are described as being of "outstanding quality" and suggest the oyster beds have thrived in this year's warm, food-rich summer after making a good recovery from the devastating 2003 bonamia parasite attack.
The commercial quota is limited to 15 million oysters in the season, which ends on August 31. Niwa fisheries scientist Keith Michael said: "We do a stock assessment every two years, and since 2005, the fishery has been rebuilding quite strongly.
"The oysters are looking in remarkably good condition this year thanks to the warm productive summer. They are definitely larger.
Graham Wright of Barnes Oysters in Bluff said the phones "had been going crazy" in the past two to three weeks with calls from eager restaurants and supermarkets.
Warren Conway of the Bluff Oyster Management Company said: "The quality of the oysters is much better than last year - a sign that the beds are coming back."
Chef Simon Gault from Auckland's Euro restaurant and bar is spending more than $20,000 to hire a private jet to ensure his is the first restaurant in Auckland to offer the delicacy.
"We will be hiring a private plane and then a helicopter to winch the oysters from the boats.
"The cost involved means we won't make any money but it's great being the first to serve them up."
Foodstuffs Auckland, which will sell Bluff oysters in its Pak 'N Save and New World stores, says it is expecting this year to be a better season than the past few years.
Foodstuffs Auckland's seafood division manager, Dave Jose, said last year, non-supermarket retailers were selling Bluff Oysters for $24.95 a dozen. "We estimate increased fuel and wage costs in getting the oysters to market will probably mean they'll be selling for a dollar more a dozen - that's $25.95. As to our price, that will be revealed on March 1."
The seafood and fish category manager for Progressive Enterprises (Foodtown, Woolworth and Countdown), Warwick Brown, said Bluff oysters would be available in stores in Auckland on Monday and the rest of the country on Tuesday.
