Skippers meet to discuss state of Oyster beds

A meeting of skippers and the Bluff Oyster Management Company this afternoon could result in the closure of the oyster season after just one week.

One skipper, who would not be named, said some skippers and their crews were shocked by the poor state of the beds.

"Fishing-wise it's disastrous. There is a hell of a lot of concern about it," he said.

The quota for the season, which started on Saturday, was halved from 14.95 million to 7.5 million.

In the 1980s oystermen hauled up more than 100 million each season.

Surveys carried out by National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research for the Ministry of Fisheries had convinced Fisheries Minister Pete Hodgson to have a season this year.

He had hoped the beds had recovered after the oyster-killing disease bonamia struck again last season.

Further reading: nzherald.co.nz/marine