Michelle Daw, Yorke Peninsula Country Times

Stansbury oyster growers have cautiously welcomed the reopening of their harvesting area, which had been shut since early May.

Growers were informed of the reopening mid-afternoon on Wednesday, December 31 — too late for them to sell for the lucrative Christmas and New Year’s Eve markets.

Harvesting was suspended by the state government due to the detection of brevetoxins, produced by certain microscopic algae in seawater, which can build up in shellfish that feed by filtering water.

Safety confirmed

On December 31, Primary Industries and Regions SA biosecurity executive director Georgie Cornish announced that routine testing by the South Australian Shellfish Quality Assurance Program confirmed brevetoxins had returned to safe levels.

SASQAP is funded by the shellfish industry through full cost recovery; however, relevant fees have been temporarily suspended by the state government for growers affected by the harmful algal bloom.

Ms Cornish said the Stansbury Harvesting Area was the first to close and among the most affected.

“These temporary closures are essential to protect public health and maintain consumer confidence, and I thank our industry and science partners for their commitment to rigorous testing and monitoring,” she said.

“With harvesting now resuming at Stansbury, I encourage consumers to support these growers who have been doing it tough by going out and ordering, purchasing and eating our beautiful world class oysters, knowing that they are backed by these rigorous safety standards.

“The vast majority of South Australia’s shellfish licences are now operating in open harvest areas unaffected by the algal bloom with their produce safe to eat.”

SASQAP continues to monitor all harvesting areas — including Coobowie and Port Vincent, which remain closed until all relevant food safety standards are met.

Return to harvesting

Steve Bowley, of Pacific Estate Oysters at Stansbury, began harvesting immediately to fill local orders, conducting his first harvest in 241 days.

“It’s good to go out and bring them in,” Mr Bowley said.

“Opening now is just the perfect vitamin boost that we need right now … it’s excellent for the new year.”

However, he said the local oyster industry was “not out of the woods yet” due to the unpredictability of the bloom, with the Kangaroo Island oyster harvesting area having opened and closed several times in quick succession.

Mr Bowley said he and his wife Gerri had relied on savings and superannuation since May, and said two state government grants were vital in getting them through.

He thanked the local community for its support throughout the closure.

“Everyone is absolutely delighted that we’re selling again and we’ve got a few forward orders,” he said.

Research and readiness

Fellow Stansbury grower Paul Dee said news of the reopening took a couple of days to sink in, given the hardships faced.

“Our oysters are the heroes in this story — they stayed alive when every other species out there was dying,” Mr Dee said.

“They kept growing, they’re in good condition, and they are filtering everything that’s in the water, and our scientists were monitoring this all along.”

Mr Dee, a director of the South Australian Oyster Research Council and Yorke Peninsula representative on the SA Oyster Growers Association board, said growers were working closely with the state government to monitor oyster lease waters.

Water testing had increased from monthly to weekly, and a new automatic monitoring buoy off Stansbury would data collection.

PIRSA also confirmed that AgileX Biolabs in Thebarton is now the first Australian lab accredited to test for brevetoxins in oysters, pipis and mussels — reducing delays by eliminating the need to send samples to New Zealand.

Figures from SAOGA show the total direct business turnover of South Australia’s oyster industry reached $77.9 million in 2020-21.

This article appeared in Yorke Peninsula Country Times, 6 January 2026.