Bonamia not stopping Oyster World

The plans for Bluff’s new Oyster World attraction are still on schedule, despite the threat posed by the latest bonamia outbreak.

Awarua Research and Development director Aimee Kaio said while the outbreak of Bonamia ostreae was a cause for concern, it had not brought the development into question.

‘‘The plans are still going ahead, even with the latest news.’’

Kaio said while there was uncertainty over the future of the fishery, it was too early to know what would happen.

‘‘We don’t know what the future holds for the oyster yet. Bluff will always be renowned for the oyster, even whether it’s in the harbour or not. There’s no need to stop because of the ostreae that’s been found.’’

The concepts for the attraction are on display at the Awarua Developments office in Bluff, where both locals and tourists have come in to see the designs.

Kaio said the next stages of the project were now in development.

‘‘What we have confirmed is the experience – what will be happening at the attraction and the function the site will serve.

‘‘Now that we’ve got feedback on what a tourism attraction would look like in Bluff, we’re surveying the market to see how people respond.’’

As well as testing the tourist appetite for the project, Kaio said several potential sites for the building were being looked into. ‘‘It is looking very feasible, but we just need to make sure we do all our research first.’’

Kaio said while the oyster was ‘‘main attraction’’ for Bluff, more work needed to be done to showcase other tourist attractions in the town.

In Venture Southland’s recent Southland Perception Study, the Bluff Oyster Festival was identified as the region’s most recognisable brand, being named as such by 19 per cent of respondents to the survey. It also received top billing in the 2013 (30 per cent) and 2010 (18 per cent) versions of the survey.