A Port Stephens oyster farmer says the NSW Agriculture Minister industry has been told the industry is less than two years from breakdown without urgent government intervention.
Minister Dugald Saunders visited the region yesterday to hear from the dozens of farmers affected by QX disease, which has ravaged and killed their stock.
XL Oysters managing director and NSW Farmers Port Stephens oyster branch chairman Matt Burgoyne said about 30 people shared their experience.
"It was a pretty sombre meeting," he said. "QX has killed three crops of oysters for some - that means they'll have no income for three years."
The message Mr Burgoyne said they wanted to convey was: "if we don't get the necessary support to restock our farms, the industry is only 12-18 months away from collapse".
"We have 41 farmers here, about 10 have finished up already," he said. "That's a quarter of the local industry.
Mr Burgoyne said Port Stephens produced about 16 per cent of the state's oysters and there were "huge ramifications" for the NSW industry if they can't get support.
Some farmers had experienced a lag in obtaining natural disaster grants available to them while others found the process difficult.
Mr Saunders said he had spoke to farmers about getting immediate help in this area, and was waiting to hear if the government will remove lease fees.
"Some said that wouldn't be too much help, but for some people it's substantial," he said. "Hopefully that's not far away."
But "really significant" support was needed, Mr Burgoyne said, to grow disease-resistant pacific oysters - which could be years away.
"We just don't have the time for that unfortunately," he said.
Mr Saunders said some of the farmers were prepared from QX ravaging other parts of the state and had resistant oysters, but others didn't.
He said getting the disaster grants to the farmers was his first priority, and "industry specific solutions" to access product were happening as fast as possible.
"We're determined to try and find a way forward," Mr Saunders said. "But it's not going to be a saviour of the industry. They're certainly not out of the woods, there's an expectation it will get worse before it gets better."
Mr Burgoyne said while they were thankful the Minister visited and engaged in good discussion, they would have to "wait and see" what comes of it.
"I don't think the guys would have left high-fiving, but there's a little bit of hope," he said. "Talk is cheap. Farmers are very practical, nothing is sure until they can see the money. We can only let government know what we need. The ball's in his court."
