FIRST FARM NEAR SUCCESS

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30480, 30 June 1964, Page 14

FIRST FARM NEAR SUCCESS

“The Press" Special Service AUCKLAND, June 29. The first New Zealand commercial rock oyster farm is on the brink of success. Within two years it could be supplying rock oysters to New Zealand gourmets—and at a reasonable price.

The farm is at Cowan's Bay, just south of Warkworth on the Mahurangi Harbour. It is run as a part-time venture by an Auckland businessman, Mr J. F. Neary, a printer, Mr J. H. S. Wilson, and a T.E.A.L. officer, Mr J. Hamling. The key equipment at the farm is a series of pine battens treated to resist long immersion in salt water. The battens, six feet long and about an inch square, are coated with a blended tar to help young oysters—called “spats”—to cling to them. The battens are placed on racks in layers about eight deep just ' elow the high tide mark.

When the spats reach the size of a shilling, the battens are laid out about six inches apart in a single layer at the half-tide level. There the young oysters, still attached to the stakes and suspended a foot above the mud, remain until they reach maturity. Then the stakes are pulled up, taken ashore and the oysters are removed. Messrs Neary, Wilson . and Hamling put their first experimental stakes down in the Kaipara Harbour about the beginning of last year. They decided about August last year to transfer these racks to Mahurangi Harbour because Kaipara was too far from home. “We have to work on the oysters every week-end, and we just couldn’t do that at Kaipara,” Mr Neary said. “Several thousand spats were lost in transit, but the rest were successfully transplanted. These are now growing on 1200 second-stage stakes, and they are growing rapidly.

“We were allowing four i years before our first crop,

but it looks as though it will be very much less —by early 1966, we hope.” Mr Wilson said each stake should produce almost 100 oysters. The oysters from 20 stakes would fill a sack. Mr Wilson said the oysters probably would be sold direct to the public at Is 6d a dozen. At present oysters were sold wholesale for 8d a dozen, but the retail price was anything between 6s and 19s 6d.

Also at the farm are about 300 yards of spat racks, holding 11,000 baby oysters. “To get established, this business must be part-time for at least five years,” Mr Neary said. “Before then we can expect little returns. Then we intend to go into it full time, provided the Government allows it. “Several local people are interested and we hope to form a co-operative.?