Oysters no more

Photo from the train: Hawkesbury River with oyster stakes

Photo from the train: Hawkesbury River, looking south

Travelling by train north from Sydney takes you along the lovely Hawkesbury River. It is a train trip I make frequently and as we roll past the  oyster farming structures that poke out of the water at low tide I wonder about the future of humanity.

Ten years ago 28 oyster farmers farmed Sydney Rock Oysters in these waters but they were destroyed  by QX disease in 2004. Eight farmers started again farming pacific oysters. The number grew and grew and by last year there were 15 oyster businesses operating in the area and there were always boats out among the wooden stakes harvesting oysters. Earlier this year Pacific Oyster Mortality Syndrome wiped the oysters out and now the boats are gone.

The Hawkesbury oyster industry is one example of many that illustrates what happens when we create imbalances in nature. Are we capable of learning the lessons nature is trying to teach us?

Hawkesbury River Oyster Leases

I drew this on the train between Hornsby and Woy Woy today, on my way between my new house and art school.

The Hawksbury River is very picturesque with oyster leases along its banks. When we stopped at the Hawkesbury River station an elderly fellow on the train said he remembered the days when the windows of the train could be opened and vendors at Hawkesbury Station would sell oysters to the passengers for a shilling a dozen.