Key industry documents

Disaster Preparedness Handbook

In recent years, oyster farmers have suffered through a range of disasters including bushfires, floods, heatwaves, oil spills, disease and food-borne illness outbreaks. On the back of these events, dozens of interviews have been recorded with affected farmers, and their insights and learnings have been distilled into a handbook ‘Disaster Ready: Sharing stories to help the NSW oyster industry prepare for future disasters’. 

The Disaster Preparedness Handbook was handed out as a print copy to farmers attending the series of eight workshops co-hosted by NSW Farmers, the NSW Food Authority, and NSW DPI Aquatic Biosecurity. If you have not received a hard copy, you can download the copy by clicking on the image and link on the right. 

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Opportunities & Associated Value in Carbon Neutral Certification & Environmental Accounts:

In 2021 Oysters Australia commissioned Nine-Squared to do some work looking at the opportunities & dead-ends in relation to carbon credits / payments, carbon neutral certification and environmental accounts.   

While offset payments through the Australian Governments Emission Reduction Fund aren't likely in the foreseeable future, there may be value for industry with carbon neutral certification and environmental accounting. 

Growers interested in carbon & environmental accounting should also check-out some work undertaken in New Zealand which looked at the life-cycle assessment of oysters and mussels. The project assessed the carbon footprint of farmed shellfish over their entire life cycle from farming activities, harvesting, processing, packaging, chilled distribution to domestic retail, preparing, consumption, and disposal of used shells & packaging. 

• A summary of the project can be read here
• The full project report can be read here

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NSW Oyster Industry Sustainable Aquaculture Strategy (OISAS):

The NSW Oyster Industry Sustainable Aquaculture Strategy (OISAS):

• identifies those areas within NSW estuaries where oyster aquaculture is a suitable and priority outcome;
• secures resource access rights for present and future oyster farmers throughout NSW;
• documents and promotes environmental, social and economic best practice for NSW oyster farming and ensures that the principles of ecological sustainable development, community expectations and the needs of other user groups are integrated into the management and operation of the NSW oyster industry;
• formalises industry's commitment to environmental sustainable practices and a duty of care for the environment in which the industry is located;
• provides a framework for the operation and development of a viable and sustainable NSW oyster aquaculture industry with a clear approval regime and up-front certainty for existing industry participants, new industry entrants, the community and decision makers;
• identifies the key water quality parameters necessary for sustainable oyster aquaculture and establishes a mechanism to maintain and where possible improve the environmental conditions required for sustainable oyster production; and
• ensures that the water quality requirements for oyster growing are considered in the State's land and water management and strategic planning framework.

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NSW Oyster Industry Strategy

In late 2014 the NSW Shellfish Committee established an industry led working group to develop a strategy – to halt the decline and focus industry development into the future. Without a strategy adaptation to production-market pressures will remain fragmented, placing the industry at risk of greater decline and slower development rates than can be achieved with one in place.

​This report outlines the first phase of the strategy – outlining a vision and what the strategic priorities are based on the deliberations of the working group and discussion with industry at the 2015 Oyster Field Days in Old Bar and Pambula. Individual oyster businesses can use the strategy to inform their own actions. The industry representative structures now need to develop and implement an implementation schedule to realise the significant potential oysters have to increase the prosperity of the industry and NSW.

​To assist the realisation of the priorities identified in the strategy, an Implementation Group (IG) was formed and consisted of proactive oyster farmers throughout NSW.  In late 2017, this implementation group was wound up. A progress report has been produced to outline the key achievements of these farmers in pursuit of realising the objectives of the strategy. 

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Finance Support Pack

One of the 12 priorities identified in the NSW Oyster Industry Strategy (see above), was the need to 'improve industry's ability to secure bank & other sources of finance'. This priority stems from the finance sectors' lack of awareness and undestanding about the oyster industry and it's potential for growth. 

Kel Henry from Wonboyn Rock Oysters, and a member of the Oyster Strategy Implementation Group, subsequently approached the Australian Government's Farming Together Program and successfully applied for funding to develop a Finance Support Pack.  

The materials developed will help to:  

• educate the finance industry about the oyster industry,
• educate the finance industry about the investment opportunities in the industry, 
• increase the ability of farmers to access appropriate & timely finance to upgrade, innovate and grow their businesses

Materials created:
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• You can download all files in a zipped folder here, or chose individual files from the table below.

The Good News About Oysters - Industry Factsheets	PDF print version ​PDF web version
Business Case Template	PDF ​MS  Word
Presentation	Powerpoint
Frequently Asked Questions	MS Word
Influencer Strategy	PDF ​MS Word

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