100,000 oysters allegedly stolen from Narooma

About 100,000 young Sydney rock oysters have allegedly been stolen from two businesses on the NSW Far South Coast and police believe it is possible someone with ties to the oyster growing industry is responsible.

The oysters were stolen straight out of the water at Narooma between 1 and 31 October, police claimed.

More than 2000 dozen oysters that were 40 millimeters in size were allegedly stolen from the first business, while up to 6000 dozen oysters eight millimeters in size were allegedly stolen from the second.

Police estimated that if purchased at the time they were allegedly taken, they would have been worth around a total of $12,000. However, they were young, and would be worth more by the time they had fully grown.

Detective Sergeant Michael Calleja, who is with the NSW Police’s Rural Crime Prevention Team, said the oysters were not ready for human consumption.

He said this meant the only plausible explanation for the alleged thefts was that they were stolen for someone to grow themselves, but police were “obviously keeping an open mind about that”.

He said the alleged thefts were “concerning for the oyster growers down that way”.

When asked how unusual it was for the region to see oyster thefts, Detective Sergeant Calleja said incidents were “sporadic”.

“We haven’t had one like this for a little while,” he said.

“It varies in numbers too. So it can be an opportunistic theft where a few dozen get picked up … to large-scale thefts like this.

“It’s the largest one that I’ve seen in the three years that I’ve been looking after the area.”

The NSW South Coast-based producer Australia’s Oyster Coast (AOC) is the country’s largest producer of food-grade rock oysters.

It is one of the two businesses that were affected by these alleged thefts in Narooma.

“Australia’s Oyster Coast confirms the theft of juvenile oysters from our Wagonga Inlet oyster leases,” an AOC spokesperson said.

“The theft has been reported and we are working with authorities on this matter.”

Police are asking for witnesses or any information on the incidents at Narooma to come forward.

For instance, if you have seen suspicious activity around the sheds of oyster leases, contact police.

You can contact rural crime investigators at Batemans Bay on 4472 0099 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or by clicking here.