Police investigate theft of 400,000 oysters in NSW
An oyster business on the New South Wales Mid North Coast estimates as much as $400,000 worth of its stock has been stolen.
Police are investigating the theft of approximately 400,000 oysters from leases on the NSW Mid North Coast, with the estimated value of the oysters amounting to around $350,000. Ryan Freeman, who runs Latitude 31 Oysters on Scotts Creek at Oxley Island, claims that up to $400,000 worth of stock and equipment was stolen, causing significant damage to his business.
Freeman noticed the missing oysters on Tuesday morning while checking on them for Christmas, as his floating gear and tumblers were also missing from the property on the Manning River near Old Bar. He estimated that about 80 percent of the stolen stock would have been sold during the Christmas season, with 35-40,000 dozen oysters typically sold at that time.
Freeman highlighted that the stolen oysters could have been sold this Christmas, making the theft particularly detrimental to his business. It takes three to four years to grow a Sydney rock oyster, and Freeman reported losing a third of his livestock. He expressed doubt that the thieves would be able to sell the stolen oysters for much profit, given the time and effort required to grow them. Freeman urged anyone with information, including CCTV footage, to come forward to assist the police in their investigation.
Written by urgent.news from ABC News AU's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
