102 oyster farming applications in Castlemaine Harbour
A ROW is stirring in Castlemaine Harbour as over 100 applications have been made for oyster farms along the coast, including one application for 831 hectares – around the size of 1,000 football pitches.
The 102 oyster license applications have gone out to public consultation, giving the public four weeks to voice their views on the surge of oyster farms in the area.
The majority of the 102 applications refer to oyster farms, though some are also seeking mussel licences while others are a variation from mussel to oyster production. Approximately 50 oyster operators have applied for the 102 licenses.
The farms vary in size with the largest 831 hectares or 2050 acres.
A local campaign group, Save our Beach, has hit out at the number of applications and iscritical of the Department of the Marine over what it claims is an unfair public process.
“We’re completely baffled by the government’s actions,” said Save The Beach campaign spokesperson Maurice Murphy. “How can they realistically expect our community to object to more than 100 applications? It’s ludicrous to call this a democratic public consultation process and highly wasteful of community resources.
“Our communities are working hard trying to make a living, and DAFM comes in with these applications that are completely nonsensical,” he added.
The oyster farm applications have gone out to public consultation following the completion of a draft appropriate assessment of Castlemaine Harbour, a special area of conservation, in recent weeks. This draft assessment concluded that the region would not be suitable for more oyster farms and stated that “the risk of significant disturbance from the proposed aquaculture activities cannot be discounted”.
The assessment also stated that the proposed increase in the spatial area arising from the new licence applications would pose a risk of seston depletion and impact on the carrying capacity of the harbour.
It did, however, specify that the five applications, from mussel to oyster could be considered.
Ten of the 102 refer to Rossbeigh and Dooks, which have previously drawn concerns from the public, including a public protest on Rossbeigh beach last year.
The remaining 92 are primarily in Cromane – an area which depends on fishing and oysterfarming is a primary source of employment in the area.
But according to some local fishermen, the majority of the applications will not get the go ahead but must be lodged for all areas following the appropriate assessment, as part of proceedure.
Fishermen in Cromane met last week to discuss the new licenses and are hoping to draw up a plan to divide these licenses in the area, that’s according to one oyster producer in the area. “No 102 applications will be granted. This is a new tranche of licences and the procedure has to take its course,” the oyster producer stated.
“There is great employment from oysters and it is vital to keep Cromane alive. However, we as growers do not want to destroy the natural amenity,”
The applications had previously been lodged with the Department but must now go out to public consultation.
In a statement the Department said this week that the licensing process allows for a period of public consultation with is now underway and it would not be appropriate for the Department to comment further as the applications.