Farming the Sydney rock oyster (Saccostrea commercialis) in Australia

Commercial production of Sydney rock oysters (Saccostrea commercialis) in Australia began simultaneously in New South Wales (NSW) and southern Queensland around 1870. It began with the exploitation of dredge beds, intertidal oyster beds, and with the placement of a range of catching and growing substrates such as sticks, slabs of rocks, and shell placed on intertidal mud flats. As dredge beds were depleted and problems with accumulation of silt and mudworm (Polydora sp.) increased, the industry progressively adopted the stick and tray culture on intertidal racks. However, the use of sticks for growing is now rapidly diminishing as farmers are learning to scrape small (4 to 8 mm) spat off sticks and grow them in specially adapted trays or other growing containers (single‐seed culture). At its peak in 1976–1977, the combined NSW and southern Queensland industry produced 9267 t (wet weight including shell) or 154,454 bags (1200 oysters per bag), but it has declined over the last decade to a production of 5306 t or 88,429 bags in 1990–1991, with a total value of A$30.1 million. This review discusses current farming methods such as stick and tray, single‐seed and subtidal (raft, pontoon, dredge bed) culture, processing and marketing techniques, problems with diseases and environmental hazards (heat kill, floods, and pollution), competitors (other bivalves and barnacles), as well as government regulations, industry trends, and triploid oysters.