Dunedin has finally been granted access to the South\u2019s favourite seafood delicacy, after the lion\u2019s share were gobbled up quickly by Southland.<\/p>\n
Sunday marked the start of the Bluff oyster season, and with that came keen southerners itching to get their hands on a dozen.<\/p>\n
Best Cafe received their first shipment for the season on Wednesday evening, and had been selling them by the plate-full.<\/p>\n
Barnes Wild Bluff Oysters general manager Graeme Wright said there had not been big numbers of oysters yet, and most of those had been snaffled up by Southlanders.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018The southerners are very, very keen on their Bluff oysters \u2014 demand is normal, as in it\u2019s crazy.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
His small store in Invercargill had been inundated.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018It\u2019s really hard to catch enough, get them in a poly and send them up [to Dunedin] … but we\u2019re certainly sending to the boys at Harbour Fish and to Best Cafe.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
Tradition dictated that local stores needed to be well-stocked before they shipped elsewhere.<\/p>\n
So far, staff had not noticed any new sign of disease in oyster populations, which ended the season early last year.<\/p>\n
There were plenty of juvenile oysters but there were few legal-sized adults in the \u2018\u2018lag phase\u2019\u2019, he said.<\/p>\n
Oceans and Fisheries under-secretary Jenny Marcroft said while 2026 was likely to be challenging, there were good numbers of new oysters beginning to grow.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018Careful management will be required this season with issues such as disease and environmental pressures impacting oyster abundance and condition but there\u2019s encouraging signs as well.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
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