An ancient resource

Aboriginal shell middens along the NSW coastline are monuments to thousands of years of sustainable oyster harvesting. Middens at Pambula Lake are estimated to be over 3000 years old, and are some of the best preserved mounded middens on the east coast of Australia.

In some estuaries Aboriginal people actively replenished natural oyster beds or reefs by laying oyster shells on sandbanks, creating an artificial reef for oyster spat to grow on. As well as being an important food source, oysters are woven into the broader cultural, ritual and social traditions of Aboriginal people.

A colonial resource

During early European settlement, natural oyster reefs were an important source of food, and used in the production of lime mortar and concrete for the rapidly expanding colony.

Commercial oyster farming commenced in the late 1800s, with traditional punts made from local spotted gum timber. Oyster beds were often made from shale laid out in rows on top of stones, set in the intertidal region of the lake, often in the location of former historical natural oyster reefs.

The intensive and unsustainable harvesting of the reefs coupled with catchment development, land reclamation and diminishing water quality led to the near complete collapse of the natural reef ecosystems.  

Forgotten history

The vast natural oyster reefs of Australia were once as expansive as the Great Barrier Reef, but with the loss of reefs occurring so quickly during colonisation and with few natural reefs remaining, they have become part of our forgotten history.

In the last 150 years, 99% of oyster reefs have become functionally extinct in Australia, echoing a tragic global trend.

Local and state government authorities and non-government organisations are now working together with local communities in NSW to restore shellfish reefs. Shellfish reef restoration brings significant benefits to water quality, marine biodiversity and coastal communities.