Fears for beloved Bluffies

One of our best- loved delicacies is under threat from a virulent parasite.

There are fears that the parasite found in oysters farmed off Stewart Island could cause the demise of the Bluff oyster.

The Ministry for Primary Industries ( MPI) yesterday announced it was culling all stocks of flat oysters in Stewart Island’s Big Glory Bay after they were found to be infected with the parasite Bonamia ostreae in two marine farms.

The Bluff oysters are the same species but harvested wild from the Foveaux Strait, perilously close to the affected farms.

The expensive delicacies can be bought at fish and chip shops for a few dollars but at upmarket restaurants like Auckland City’s Soul Bar and Bistro cost $ 6.50 each or more.

While the parasite is not harmful to humans, Bonamia ostreae is deadly to oysters and in 2015 killed over 90 per cent of Marlborough’s farmed flat oyster population, according to MPI and a local Bluff oyster expert. It also affected a Nelson research facility.

Graeme Wright, operations manager for the Bluff Oyster Management Company, which manages the area’s wild fishery, said locals were holding their breath that the parasite did not spread into the strait.

“If it got into our fishery it would probably spell the end. It would lock the door and throw the key away,” he said. “It’s extremely worrying.”

“The social and economic benefits of Bluff oysters, you can’t measure that. It’s extremely important to the local community, it’s hugely important to iwi — oyster, tio, is the king of the table — and the wild fishery has a value to the local economy of probably $ 25 million a year.”

One affected Stewart Island farmer, who asked not to be named, said he would soon be forced to destroy the oysters he had farmed for years.

His said his livelihood was gone and he felt “numb”.

MPI yesterday announced it would also destroy what was left of Marlborough’s flat oyster population, despite not having taken this step in

2015.