Oyster and kelp farmers join calls to future-proof NSW south coast’s blue economy

Shoreline at the Batemans marine park. Research shows overfishing of urchin predators destroys the kelp canopy that regulates ocean acidity and removes carbon from the atmosphere. Photograph: Elizabeth Walton

During the 2019 black summer bushfires, oyster farmer Kevin McAsh’s leases along the Clyde River on the New South Wales south coast were badly charred. Afterwards, floods washed debris upstream into the Batemans Bay estuaries.

“The elders said they’ve never seen anything like it. All the ground cover was destroyed,” he says.