Local oyster farmers and professional fishers will descend onto the foreshore of the Macleay River on February 20 for a seafood industry led clean-up event in celebration of a new seafood industry initiative dubbed 'Tide to Tip', organised by OceanWatch Australia.
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Out on the water every day, oyster farmers have an intimate knowledge of their local environment, and regularly pick up rubbish they find floating in the estuary. This February however, the industry is scaling up its efforts to do their bit, with oyster farmers organising to meet up with other growers and target marine debris hotspots.
Local oyster farmer, Todd Graham, and Technician for Select Oyster Company said the event is a great initiative for oyster farmers to help clean waterways.
"While we farmers are always out on the water and doing our bit where we can, this is a great opportunity to work as a group. The support from OceanWatch Australia is going to mean that these clean-ups state-wide, are a massive effort with a very effective outcome. Not only for the immediate health of our waterways, but also for the long term. These are sustainable solutions the whole community can contribute to," he said.
'Tide to Tip' is being launched for the first time on Monday February 17, with over 250 oyster farmers involved in clean-ups across the country. Not only will oyster farmers clean-up the area, participants will also do an audit of the rubbish collected. A summary of the waste will be documented and analysed by the Australian Marine Debris Database - a program run by Tangaroa Blue Foundation.
OceanWatch Australia hopes this is the first of many large-scale clean-ups led by the seafood industry that not only provides a way for fishers and farmers to give back to the estuaries on which their livelihoods depend, but helps to ensure Australian waterways remain pristine and healthy for generations to come.
Over the past few years the oyster industry in the Macleay has grown and sold over a million oysters to hungry shellfish lovers. With 10 oyster farms perched on the banks of the river, the industry generates dozens of jobs and is an important part of the local economy.
The Tide to Tip program is supported by OceanWatch Australia, Clean Up Australia Day, NSW Local Land Services and the NSW Landcare Program. The NSW Landcare Program is a partnership between Local Land Services and Landcare NSW Inc. supported by the NSW Government.
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