KEY POINTS:
They keep calling everyone's bluff but the first oysters from Foveaux Strait should finally make it into the mouths of diners at Auckland's Viaduct Harbour today.
Euro restaurant has waited since Saturday to get in the Bluff oysters by helicopter and jet but bad weather has forced delays.
Chef Simon Gault said the phones had been ringing non-stop with people asking, "Where are the oysters, where are the oysters?"
Mr Gault said the more than $20,000 exercise to get the treats flown up was turning into an "absolute mission" but he was confident they would finally arrive at the restaurant by midday.
"I think we've created a monster."
Punters are getting ready to shell out $45 for a dozen and in the meantime some have been making do with Nelson oysters, he said.
Bluff oyster retailer Graham Wright, of Barnes Oysters, said it was a welcome sight to see the fishing fleet head out yesterday after bad weather delayed the start of the season.
More than 100,000 oysters were expected to be hauled in to shore on the first day of fishing.
Mr Wright said he always made sure the local people got "a fair crack on the first couple of days".
"It's always difficult because everyone wants them and you just can't catch and process enough to meet the demand."
While the oysterbeds had suffered in the past from the killer parasite bonamia, they seemed to have bounced back well this season.
About 7.5 million oysters will be harvested commercially this season.
Mr Wright said the oysters would sell for $19 a dozen when they went on sale at his Bluff shop this morning.
