The oyster season opened at midnight yesterday, March 1st. Eleven boats left Bluff harbour for Foveaux Strait and returned some hours later with a good catch of oysters. Immediately thousands of oysters were unloaded. Workers then opened the oysters which were sent by air to Auckland and other markets throughout the country.
Last year was a good season with 13 million oysters sold. This year looks as though it will be just as good.
The weather yesterday was wet and windy but that is not unusual. The oyster season is autumn and winter so it is often cold as well as wet and windy. Also Foveaux Strait is in the far south of the South Island so it’s not surprising that it is cold at this time of year.
Listen to March 5th 2012 and May 25th 2013 to hear more about oysters in New Zealand.
Vocabulary
- Strait – a narrow strip of water between two islands
- not unusual – it can happen often