OYSTER - Transcript

00:00:06.06]
[water bubbling]

[00:00:25.08]
[gentle ambient music]

[00:00:29.06]
[oyster bags jostling]

[00:00:47.01]
[splashing and snapping]

[00:00:52.01]
- [Radio Announcer] It's ten
to seven, you're listening

[00:00:53.03]
to ABC South East.

[00:00:54.08]
We all know that the
Sydney rock oysters grown

[00:00:57.05]
on the south east coast are
some of the best in Australia,

[00:01:00.05]
maybe even some of the best in the world.

[00:01:02.07]
One of the main reasons they're so good

[00:01:04.07]
is because the oyster leases

[00:01:06.06]
are in some of the most pristine

[00:01:08.06]
and stunning waterways in Australia.

[00:01:10.08]
Merimbula Lake oyster
farmer and lake coordinator,

[00:01:13.07]
Dominic Boyton, wants to raise awareness

[00:01:15.08]
of the fragility of our
lakes and waterways.

[00:01:18.03]
Good morning, Dom.

[00:01:19.03]
- [Dom] Good morning.

[00:01:20.01]
- [Radio Announcer] So
what's happening out there

[00:01:21.02]
on the lakes at the moment, Dom?

[00:01:23.00]
- [Dom] At the moment I believe people

[00:01:24.04]
have become a bit complacent
about what they're doing

[00:01:26.09]
around our waterway and
anything that enters our water

[00:01:30.07]
has a detrimental effect and
without a healthy waterway,

[00:01:35.06]
then we don't have a
healthy oyster industry

[00:01:38.07]
and the oysters are essentially
the canary of the estuary.

[00:01:43.02]
[gentle instrumental music]

[00:01:49.05]
[Eddie yelling]

[00:01:51.09]
- [Sol] They're my shorts!

[00:01:54.02]
- [Dom] Are they?

[00:01:55.03]
Not yours.

[00:01:57.03]
- Mine.

[00:01:58.01]
- Ta.

[00:01:59.02]
- Ta.

[00:02:00.05]
- [Sol] Yours?

[00:02:01.07]
- Have you got socks?

[00:02:02.06]
- Ta!
- You've got your socks

[00:02:05.03]
upside-down, champ.

[00:02:06.09]
- Oh.
- This is your coffee.

[00:02:08.05]
- Thanks.
- Go home!

[00:02:10.05]
- Stop that!

[00:02:12.05]
He's stealing my socks!
Give it, give it back!

[00:02:16.05]
[squealing]
Give it!

[00:02:18.05]
Eddie, give it!

[00:02:20.08]
Give it!

[00:02:23.03]
Give it!

[00:02:25.04]
- [Dom] Eddie, Eddie.

[00:02:28.07]
- [Radio Announcer]
ABC South East weather.

[00:02:32.04]
A clear sunny day ahead today.

[00:02:34.06]
Blue skies all day,
light winds this morning

[00:02:36.09]
and afternoon sea breezes.

[00:02:38.02]
We'll see temperatures
getting to the low 30s.

[00:02:42.04]
[boat motor rumbling]

[00:02:47.03]
[oyster bag snapping]

[00:02:50.03]
- I think I was helping
Dad from about Solly's age,

[00:02:55.01]
which is around 11.

[00:02:59.08]
[oyster bag rattling]

[00:03:01.06]
I need him today, need a boat holder.

[00:03:05.03]
That used to be my job when I was a kid.

[00:03:10.00]
Stop the boat floating away.

[00:03:13.01]
[water splashing]

[00:03:15.08]
That's why my arms are so long,

[00:03:16.06]
trying to hold the boat, got stretched.

[00:03:25.08]
Probably from a pretty
young age I was pretty sure

[00:03:28.07]
I was going to be a chef.

[00:03:34.04]
Did a couple of lots of
work experience in school

[00:03:39.08]
and one of them was at the
Opera House and I was--

[00:03:43.01]
what was I doing-- deboning
spatchcock and quail

[00:03:47.09]
and the kitchen windows
look out over the harbor

[00:03:51.03]
and no, actually, I think
I'd prefer to be out there

[00:03:56.02]
than stuck in here, so, that was it.

[00:04:01.06]
Changed me.

[00:04:03.05]
[gentle guitar music]

[00:04:06.08]
We now run a farm with
19 leases, 125 acres

[00:04:12.06]
and 20 million oysters.

[00:04:15.01]
[gentle guitar music]

[00:04:24.06]
[indistinct chatter]

[00:04:27.02]
- Well, they are, they are
all native to those estuaries.

[00:04:31.00]
- Yeah, but whether you can move them

[00:04:32.05]
from up there to down here.

[00:04:34.02]
- I know.

[00:04:36.03]
[machinery clanking]

[00:04:40.04]
- I never imagined I would
be an oyster farmer, ever.

[00:04:43.03]
It wasn't in my dream.

[00:04:50.02]
I don't think we'd been
dating for longer than a week

[00:04:53.01]
when he had me down at that oyster farm

[00:04:55.04]
but at that stage he was
working 20-hour days some days,

[00:05:00.06]
so the only way to see Dom
was to go to the oyster farm.

[00:05:05.08]
So from the very beginning I had to learn

[00:05:09.03]
how to cull oysters, how to chip oysters

[00:05:13.02]
and how to grade them.

[00:05:15.09]
So Dom has written down six dozen Angasi

[00:05:18.00]
and 15 dozen Sydney rocks.

[00:05:22.06]
Good.

[00:05:24.07]
I mean look, we say 10 days from harvest

[00:05:28.08]
because that's how we safely say it.

[00:05:31.05]
Yeah, what size are the Sydney
rocks are you looking for?

[00:05:35.06]
All sizes. Yep, I mean
big oysters are wonderful

[00:05:40.05]
but I love bottle
oysters, as we call them,

[00:05:43.02]
which is the grade just below bistro

[00:05:45.02]
and I think they're beautiful.

[00:05:47.08]
They're big enough but they're

[00:05:49.04]
still small enough, they're sweet.

[00:05:52.01]
- Size, we have different
sizes, medium size.

[00:05:57.04]
We've got from $10 up to $14.

[00:06:03.04]
- [Buyer] The $14 ones, then.

[00:06:04.07]
- [Dom] Alright.

[00:06:14.01]
[buckets banging]

[00:06:16.06]
- [Buyer] Can I watch you do that?

[00:06:17.05]
I've never seen it done before.

[00:06:19.02]
- Yeah, there's a couple of ways.

[00:06:20.09]
We open them from the pointy end.

[00:06:24.04]
- Yeah.
- Where the two shells

[00:06:26.02]
are joined there.

[00:06:27.02]
You can get the knife in there.

[00:06:30.04]
Don't want to push too hard,

[00:06:31.09]
you wiggle it and it sort of--
and then just a little twist.

[00:06:39.07]
And then flip him over like that.

[00:06:44.06]
Or the safe way,

[00:06:48.01]
put him on a bench and the rounder edge,

[00:06:53.00]
that's where the shell grows and it's

[00:06:54.05]
pretty soft along this edge.

[00:06:56.01]
- [Buyer] OK.

[00:06:57.03]
- And you can just push down and the knife

[00:06:59.04]
will go through the top shell.

[00:07:03.09]
That's the easiest way.

[00:07:08.08]
And if they're open when you
get them they're no good.

[00:07:13.03]
- What do you do to get
them to grow in your...

[00:07:20.00]
...your nets, or whatever you call them?

[00:07:21.08]
Do you seed anything

[00:07:22.08]
or are they just a
crustacean, they just grow?

[00:07:25.01]
- No, they're a shellfish,

[00:07:26.07]
so they filer algae out of the water.

[00:07:30.08]
- What age would these be?

[00:07:32.02]
- These are three years old.

[00:07:33.07]
- OK.

[00:07:38.02]
- I'm in-- what the?

[00:07:40.00]
Is that my cricket stuff?

[00:07:42.05]
- Yes!

[00:07:46.06]
- Another thing there.

[00:07:50.00]
Wonder what this is?

[00:07:51.09]
- [Cameraman] It's to protect your willy.

[00:07:55.03]
- How does it work?

[00:07:57.08]
But how do you put it on?

[00:08:00.05]
- [Cameraman] You have to ask your dad.

[00:08:03.00]
- [Pip] You have to ask Dad, darl.

[00:08:04.05]
- Why?

[00:08:08.07]
It doesn't even fit.

[00:08:10.09]
- [Pip] Oh. Are you too big?

[00:08:14.03]
[laughter]

[00:08:15.08]
- Way too big.

[00:08:17.07]
- For what?
- This.

[00:08:19.07]
- [Pip] Your brother's
just a tripod, Eddie.

[00:08:24.00]
- [Eddie] Let me see.

[00:08:24.09]
- [Pip] No, you don't want to see.

[00:08:27.02]
- This thing's way too big for me.

[00:08:29.08]
It's way too small.

[00:08:32.08]
Mum?

[00:08:34.01]
- [Pip] Yes?

[00:08:34.09]
- Why do you want me to wear this stuff?

[00:08:37.03]
- [Pip] It protects you, Solly,

[00:08:39.05]
because do you use a real cricket ball?

[00:08:41.08]
- No.

[00:08:42.06]
- [Pip] Do you use tennis balls?

[00:08:43.06]
- No.

[00:08:44.06]
- [Pip] What do you use?

[00:08:45.04]
- Soft cricket balls.

[00:08:47.01]
- Oh, OK.
- But they still hurt.

[00:08:49.05]
- [Pip] They do.

[00:08:50.09]
- They're quite hard.

[00:08:53.07]
You can't run with these, you can't.

[00:08:57.05]
- [Pip] Why can't you run with those?

[00:08:58.09]
- Well, they're pretty hard to run in.

[00:09:00.09]
- [Pip] Well you have to
learn how to run in them

[00:09:02.02]
because when you watch
those famous cricketers

[00:09:04.07]
like David Warner and--

[00:09:07.07]
- They're good runners in them.

[00:09:09.05]
- They run in them.

[00:09:11.08]
[machinery clanking]

[00:09:26.01]
You got your box on?

[00:09:28.05]
- What box?

[00:09:29.04]
- Your thing that goes in your jocks?

[00:09:30.07]
- No, it doesn't fit.

[00:09:33.00]
- It will fit.

[00:09:37.04]
Solly's in the back of the
car trying to put the box on

[00:09:39.08]
beside Kim. "It doesn't
fit, it's too small. "

[00:09:43.06]
[laughing]

[00:09:45.07]
- Mum, it doesn't fit.

[00:09:51.04]
- Pardon?

[00:09:53.02]
- It won't fit!

[00:09:54.02]
- I know!

[00:09:55.07]
You can't help being a tripod, it's OK.

[00:09:58.08]
- Too good, mate.

[00:10:01.04]
- What if I need it?

[00:10:02.02]
- Not many boys can say the box don't fit.

[00:10:06.03]
[laughter]

[00:10:11.00]
[boat motor humming]

[00:10:23.03]
- Yes, there it is! There it is!

[00:10:25.00]
Dad, Dad, that's it!

[00:10:28.09]
- [Dom] Oh, cranky.

[00:10:31.02]
- There's a seal!

[00:10:33.07]
[indistinct chatter]

[00:10:46.08]
- [Dom] Oyster farming is
extremely labor intensive.

[00:10:50.05]
We are constantly bringing
oysters in to grade,

[00:10:53.00]
taking them back out,
bringing more back in,

[00:10:55.01]
that's our day week, month, year.

[00:10:59.05]
[splashing and chatter]

[00:11:08.06]
- [Man In Hoodie] They
got something on 'em.

[00:11:12.02]
- [Dom] Baby oysters, not too bad.

[00:11:15.08]
I've seen better, I've seen worse.

[00:11:19.01]
- Oh, there they go!

[00:11:21.01]
[birds squawking]

[00:11:26.06]
[boat motor humming]

[00:11:29.00]
- [Dom] I enjoy growing things,

[00:11:31.04]
and the oyster farming
gives me many challenges

[00:11:36.09]
because we are exposed to so many

[00:11:39.02]
different environmental factors.

[00:11:50.09]
[birds calling]

[00:11:53.09]
- [Man On Phone] I'll give you
a call in the morning, Dom.

[00:11:55.07]
I'll probably be going past

[00:11:58.08]
to look at what I've taken tonight.

[00:12:01.01]
- Yep.
- I'll probably look

[00:12:03.00]
at it about 7 in the morning,
give you an indication anyway.

[00:12:05.09]
- OK, thank you.
- Thanks, Dom.

[00:12:07.04]
- OK.
- A pleasure.

[00:12:08.07]
- OK, bye-bye.
- Bye.

[00:12:11.05]
[phone beeps]

[00:12:12.06]
- Fuck what?

[00:12:14.04]
- There's been a sewage spill

[00:12:16.00]
and it's gone to the stormwater.

[00:12:21.02]
- Yes.

[00:12:22.00]
- So I'll just shut the lake, I guess.

[00:12:25.06]
What time is it?

[00:12:27.05]
- 8:25.

[00:12:30.09]
[text message alerts]

[00:12:37.01]
- Hello, it's Dominic here from Merimbula.

[00:12:40.09]
I'm good, thanks.

[00:12:41.08]
You got the call from council?

[00:12:45.00]
Oh, bugger.

[00:12:48.02]
OK, yep, OK.

[00:12:52.04]
That doesn't sound good.

[00:12:56.05]
OK, no worries.

[00:12:58.02]
Thank you. Alright, bye-bye.

[00:13:04.08]
- So it was earlier?

[00:13:06.01]
- Yeah, about 5 o'clock it started.

[00:13:11.05]
- Oh, so how long did it spew out for?

[00:13:13.07]
- Well, until they got it
under control, so until now.

[00:13:17.08]
- Three and a half-hours?

[00:13:19.05]
- Yeah, the tide was coming in all day,

[00:13:21.04]
all afternoon, so.
- Oh, no.

[00:13:24.01]
- Yeah, we could be shut
for-- maybe, it depends.

[00:13:29.05]
They're doing samples,

[00:13:31.00]
or they did samples, and he wants us to do

[00:13:34.06]
random samples tomorrow.

[00:13:37.02]
- OK, so--

[00:13:38.08]
- That's alright, it's low tide we'll go.

[00:13:41.02]
- Right.

[00:13:44.03]
- Can't do much more.

[00:13:47.05]
[boat motor humming]

[00:13:53.04]
Being the lake's coordinator,

[00:13:56.04]
after a rain event or sewage spill,

[00:13:59.05]
then I have to go out and
I test our 21 sample sites

[00:14:05.02]
on behalf of myself and the other farmers.

[00:14:08.09]
[underwater bubbling]

[00:14:34.09]
So the lake is closed at the moment,

[00:14:36.09]
which means we cannot
harvest and sell our oysters

[00:14:39.09]
but we can still harvest
and work on our oysters

[00:14:43.00]
to get them ready to sell.

[00:14:54.05]
[TV program playing]

[00:15:06.02]
- Can the TV pleased be turned down, Sol?

[00:15:30.07]
- [Sol] Pippa!

[00:15:33.03]
Pippa!

[00:15:54.09]
- Hey guys, how are you going?

[00:15:57.02]
My name's Brett.

[00:15:59.06]
I'm an oyster farmer, as is Pip.

[00:16:01.07]
We both have oyster
farms in Merimbula Lake

[00:16:05.00]
and also in Pambula Lake, OK?

[00:16:07.09]
So we mostly grow Sydney rock oysters, OK,

[00:16:12.01]
that's these guys here, right?

[00:16:14.07]
So it normally takes us three years

[00:16:17.03]
to grow our oysters down here.

[00:16:19.06]
- One oyster-- so you think
of this when you eat an oyster

[00:16:22.06]
at a restaurant-- has been handled no less

[00:16:26.01]
than 32 times by the time you're eating it

[00:16:31.03]
by an oyster farmer.

[00:16:33.03]
Is that a lot of work?

[00:16:34.09]
- [Students] Yes.

[00:16:36.03]
- Yeah.

[00:16:37.09]
[oyster shells clattering]

[00:16:43.08]
[machinery clanking]

[00:17:04.06]
[rhythmic banging]

[00:17:10.04]
- Now these we just put them out,

[00:17:13.01]
cover them in concrete
and the baby oysters

[00:17:16.06]
look for somewhere that's
dark and smooth to settle.

[00:17:20.05]
So these are nice and dark underneath

[00:17:22.08]
and smooth and they just stick to there.

[00:17:26.05]
And we just bend them and they come off.

[00:17:28.02]
These have still got oysters on them.

[00:17:31.05]
[rhythmic banging]

[00:17:36.06]
- Are you checking for gigas, Sol?

[00:17:39.05]
- Huh?

[00:17:40.04]
- [Dom] Are you checking for gigas?

[00:17:41.08]
- [Sol] What's gigas?

[00:17:42.08]
- [Dom] Pacifics.

[00:17:44.03]
- Why are you looking for Pacifics?

[00:17:45.08]
- Are you looking for them?

[00:17:46.09]
- No.

[00:17:48.01]
- You have to look for them.

[00:17:53.05]
You've got to get them out,
Sol, you've got to kill 'em.

[00:17:56.06]
See, spiky and horrible

[00:17:59.01]
and look at the size of
it compared to the rest.

[00:18:01.01]
Look how big he is.

[00:18:02.04]
That's a Pacific.

[00:18:04.01]
No, look. See how spiky?

[00:18:06.06]
- Yeah.

[00:18:07.04]
- See all these spikes
and he's all stripy?

[00:18:09.09]
And look, they're pretty dull and flat.

[00:18:12.00]
- Yeah.

[00:18:13.02]
- They're not spiky, are they?

[00:18:14.05]
- No.

[00:18:16.09]
- But he is.

[00:18:18.09]
Pull him off.

[00:18:19.09]
- [Eddie] Is that a Pacific? Can I see?

[00:18:24.09]
- [Sol] Don't drop him.
- [Dom] No, he's dead anyway.

[00:18:27.03]
- [Sol] He's dead.

[00:18:28.02]
- [Dom] I squished him.

[00:18:30.04]
- Where shall I put him?

[00:18:32.01]
- [Dom] Over there on the gravel.

[00:18:37.08]
Here ya are, look,
Eddie. That's a Pacific.

[00:18:40.08]
That's Bob-- one from Bob.

[00:18:42.04]
See he's nice and big, look.

[00:18:45.00]
Nice and smooth in there.

[00:18:46.05]
- Did Bob eat him?

[00:18:47.06]
- No. And this one, see on the edge there?

[00:18:50.09]
See those stripes?

[00:18:53.03]
- Yeah.

[00:18:54.01]
- You can take your glove off
and feel it, he's got teeth.

[00:18:57.07]
- Is that a Sydney rock?

[00:18:58.08]
- Yeah, all the way down the
side here he's got teeth.

[00:19:02.06]
- Ohh.

[00:19:03.05]
- See all those little dints?
- Is he dead?

[00:19:05.06]
- Does he have a lid?

[00:19:07.01]
- No.

[00:19:07.09]
- Is there any meat in there?

[00:19:09.06]
- No.

[00:19:10.04]
- He's dead.

[00:19:15.00]
These are quite good for Merimbula.

[00:19:16.02]
Merimbula is normally a bit hit and miss.

[00:19:20.09]
You either get them or you don't get them.

[00:19:23.02]
This year they're quite good.

[00:19:24.05]
They're on the top and on the bottom.

[00:19:27.02]
[scraping and banging]

[00:19:32.07]
Yeah, slow down a bit.

[00:19:34.09]
No, stripping slats. I
don't mind oyster farming

[00:19:37.03]
but doing this job's not much fun.

[00:19:40.02]
- I like it.

[00:19:43.00]
- Do you like it? Cool.

[00:19:46.08]
That's pretty good, mate.

[00:19:49.04]
[banging and indistinct chatter]

[00:19:54.09]
Oh, look at the state of you, Eddie.

[00:19:57.08]
- What about me?

[00:19:58.09]
- Show me, look at me.

[00:20:01.04]
Oh, dear.

[00:20:02.06]
- What about me?

[00:20:03.07]
- I think when we get home

[00:20:05.03]
just walk straight into
the shower as you are.

[00:20:08.01]
- What about me?

[00:20:09.01]
- Just wash everything off.

[00:20:10.03]
You're not too bad.

[00:20:12.09]
Got a bit of dirt on you.

[00:20:17.02]
Where you going?

[00:20:20.01]
[oyster shells clattering]

[00:20:31.00]
[power drill whirring]

[00:20:37.03]
Don't push too hard.

[00:20:42.02]
- [Sol] Dad?

[00:20:43.01]
- Here, let me start it.

[00:20:44.02]
We're going to go unless you want to stay.

[00:20:49.01]
[text message alert]

[00:21:00.04]
- [Sol] Are we having lunch or not?

[00:21:03.04]
- Nope.

[00:21:07.09]
[gentle guitar music]

[00:21:16.08]
[birds calling]

[00:21:27.09]
- [Woman on Phone] How can I help you?

[00:21:28.08]
- Yeah g'day, it's Dominic
Boyton here from Merimbula.

[00:21:31.04]
I was wondering if we had
any results ready yet.

[00:21:34.06]
- Site 15 is less than one

[00:21:35.07]
and site 21 is less than one.

[00:21:37.05]
- Excellent, alright.

[00:21:38.09]
- OK, so I just give you a call back

[00:21:40.04]
later on to tell you what the seawater is.

[00:21:41.09]
- OK, no worries.

[00:21:43.04]
- OK, bye.
- Thank you, bye-bye.

[00:21:47.05]
Alright, so...

[00:21:51.02]
...I think top will get
opened for depuration.

[00:21:53.09]
- Yep.

[00:21:55.05]
- But the entrance should get, well,

[00:21:57.06]
on the oyster meats but the
oyster meat last time was good.

[00:22:00.04]
- Yeah.

[00:22:01.03]
- The seawaters were bad.

[00:22:04.07]
OK, well that didn't
really give us an answer

[00:22:07.06]
as to whether we should go or not.

[00:22:10.01]
So I guess we just go.

[00:22:12.02]
[boys chatting]

[00:22:13.08]
- What, wait in the car?

[00:22:16.01]
I'm just going to quickly wash my face

[00:22:18.00]
and put my hair up.

[00:22:19.02]
- Alright.
- You want me to

[00:22:20.08]
take the kids to Nan and
Pop's or are you taking them?

[00:22:23.06]
- I can do that.

[00:22:25.05]
Are they ready?

[00:22:26.05]
Are they ready now?
- They're ready to go now.

[00:22:28.05]
- Alright, love ya.
- Love ya, see you there.

[00:22:31.08]
- Hi, Sol, oh he's too tall. How are you?

[00:22:34.09]
Gee, it's good to see you.

[00:22:37.09]
[phone ringing]

[00:22:39.00]
- [Dom] Here we go. Oh, it's Sonic.

[00:22:42.07]
- Hello?

[00:22:43.09]
- [Woman On Phone] Hi,
this is Sylvia calling

[00:22:44.08]
from Sonic Food & Water Testing.

[00:22:46.05]
- [Dom] How are you?

[00:22:47.03]
- Good, I've got your
preliminary seawaters.

[00:22:50.08]
12, 1, 11 and 4 are all less than two,

[00:22:53.07]
and then 10 and 20 are two.

[00:22:56.01]
- Excellent, thank you.

[00:22:57.09]
Can I get that sent over
to the Food Authority

[00:23:00.05]
as soon as possible?

[00:23:01.09]
- Yes.

[00:23:02.07]
- Thank you very much.

[00:23:03.08]
- That's OK, bye.

[00:23:04.09]
- OK, bye-bye.

[00:23:06.02]
- Great.

[00:23:08.03]
- Bugger! Now I have to work.

[00:23:10.01]
[laughing]

[00:23:11.09]
- Do you want me to come out
and give you a hand later on?

[00:23:13.05]
- Nah, I'll be alright.

[00:23:16.00]
We'll manage, as long as I get--

[00:23:18.00]
Ah, I've got to ring them--

[00:23:19.06]
AOC's crap done.

[00:23:21.05]
- Yep.
- And then, well,

[00:23:23.02]
Joe's just rung, but--
- He can wait.

[00:23:25.04]
- He's going to have to
wait for Monday still.

[00:23:29.07]
[text message alert]

[00:23:37.01]
He's happy, they're not, can't win.

[00:23:47.09]
You know how I lost my phone yesterday?

[00:23:50.01]
- Yep.

[00:23:50.09]
- Can we lose it again?

[00:23:52.03]
[laughter]
- No.

[00:23:53.08]
- It's broken, anyway.

[00:23:56.04]
It's broken.
- Then you won't

[00:23:57.03]
get any calls.

[00:23:58.06]
- It's cracked anyway.

[00:24:02.08]
- It does do one thing, though.

[00:24:05.03]
It rings a lot, so it's good at that.

[00:24:07.06]
- Yes.

[00:24:08.05]
- But it doesn't answer its own calls.

[00:24:10.09]
- Just as well I found it before...

[00:24:15.06]
- That's the only thing
I was worried about

[00:24:16.07]
because then I wouldn't
get all the results.

[00:24:22.08]
Alright, I better go.

[00:24:27.01]
Love ya.

[00:24:29.09]
Be good. Be good.

[00:24:32.01]
- No, they can't be good.

[00:24:33.03]
- Yes, they'll be good.

[00:24:37.05]
- Your house is all packed up.

[00:24:38.07]
- Yeah, it is, isn't it?

[00:24:41.03]
Hopefully it won't be soon.

[00:24:43.01]
- Thank you.

[00:24:45.04]
- [Sol] See ya, Dad.

[00:24:46.04]
- See ya, mate, be good, yeah?

[00:24:50.04]
I'll see you tonight, I'd say.

[00:24:52.08]
- [Sol] Yep.

[00:24:56.03]
[warehouse door grinding]

[00:25:03.09]
[machinery humming]

[00:25:33.08]
- Yeah, g'day.

[00:25:35.04]
- [Joe] How you going, mate?

[00:25:36.03]
- Good, yeah, we're good, so.

[00:25:39.00]
- Ah, fantastic,

[00:25:39.09]
then I'll come straight down.

[00:25:41.00]
- Alright, no worries.

[00:25:43.03]
- I'll probably be, I
don't know, three hours?

[00:25:48.06]
[oyster shells clattering]

[00:26:25.03]
[metallic clanking]

[00:26:28.07]
- We need to do up Craig.

[00:26:30.08]
AOC's 70 dozen or whatever it is.

[00:26:33.07]
- Yep.
- He's leaving now-ish.

[00:26:36.08]
- Just pick them up.

[00:26:37.08]
- To pick them up.

[00:26:38.08]
So if we do his up, Joe will take--

[00:26:42.01]
- Joe will take 700 and 700.

[00:26:44.01]
- Yeah, I said, "I don't
think I'll get that out."

[00:26:48.03]
And he's like, "Yep, righto."

[00:26:50.06]
- [Pip] Well I'm going to
have to pick those kids up,

[00:26:52.05]
drop them to the party

[00:26:54.00]
and then come back here and work.

[00:26:55.04]
- And then while you're away,

[00:26:57.06]
I'll go out and get some plate

[00:27:00.09]
and just run some plate through,

[00:27:02.03]
just to get the export stuff on the truck

[00:27:04.06]
and then the rest of it they can...

[00:27:08.03]
[whirring and clanking]

[00:27:52.05]
[whirring and clanking]

[00:28:01.02]
- We need 70.

[00:28:05.03]
- [Pip] So 70 times
12, that's 840 oysters.

[00:28:09.08]
- 70 dozen big ones.

[00:28:14.01]
70 bigger ones.

[00:28:22.05]
- Nan and Pop happy to see 'em?

[00:28:24.06]
- Yeah, they seemed to
be, and kids just went

[00:28:27.04]
and sat down with them while
they were having their brekky

[00:28:29.06]
and seemed quite happy chatting away.

[00:28:41.09]
I don't know how they're going to get them

[00:28:45.00]
to Sydney tonight.

[00:28:49.06]
- I'd say Benny would probably be doing

[00:28:51.09]
the market tomorrow at Darling Harbour,

[00:28:55.00]
so they will probably be going up then.

[00:28:57.01]
- But it's tonight.

[00:28:58.02]
- Oh, is it?

[00:28:59.00]
- Yeah.

[00:29:00.01]
- I don't know.

[00:29:02.03]
Maybe they're putting them
on the plane in Merimbula?

[00:29:04.06]
They must be flying up
tonight, and this afternoon

[00:29:07.08]
at 3:30 or whatever--

[00:29:11.06]
But even then, though.

[00:29:14.04]
- Not up to us after they go out of here

[00:29:17.01]
whether they make it or not.

[00:29:18.04]
They pay for 'em.

[00:29:23.06]
[oyster shells clattering]

[00:29:38.07]
- The timing is--

[00:29:40.02]
- Excellent. Just.

[00:29:41.08]
- Couldn't have been-- oh, it's great.

[00:29:43.08]
Perfect timing, I can get home

[00:29:45.05]
and give these a bit
of a clean-up tonight.

[00:29:48.09]
Head off in the morning.

[00:29:50.03]
- Oh, so it's tomorrow, is it?

[00:29:51.05]
- Yeah, tomorrow afternoon.

[00:29:53.05]
- Cool.

[00:29:54.03]
- Yeah, no, it will be good
to see your product up there.

[00:29:57.02]
I'll get some photos for you.

[00:29:58.04]
- Yeah, that would be good.
- Thank you.

[00:30:01.01]
- Yeah, so anyway we'll see how it goes.

[00:30:03.09]
- Yep.

[00:30:05.04]
- I better let you guys get back into it.

[00:30:07.01]
You're a skeleton crew
today, there's only...

[00:30:09.04]
- Yep.
- ...the two of you.

[00:30:11.02]
- The staff that don't need paying.

[00:30:13.01]
- Yeah.

[00:30:18.07]
[sheep bleating]

[00:30:21.03]
[indistinct chatter]

[00:30:22.04]
- $20 for these ones and then $8 for that

[00:30:24.06]
so that's $28.

[00:30:28.07]
What do you say?

[00:30:31.09]
$15, thank you.

[00:30:33.06]
And there's a fork and Tabasco

[00:30:35.02]
or some pepper just over there.

[00:30:36.08]
- Thank you.

[00:30:37.06]
- You can't bet getter than an oyster.

[00:30:39.04]
Highest thing in zinc, iron, calcium.

[00:30:43.04]
Yes, so we own Merimbula Gourmet Oysters.

[00:30:45.05]
We've got a 125 acre Sydney rock oystery.

[00:30:50.07]
There you go.

[00:30:51.08]
- [Male Customer] How's your season been?

[00:30:52.09]
- Really good.
- OK.

[00:30:54.07]
- Demand outstrips
supply and now Tasmania,

[00:30:57.06]
unfortunately, has just
been hit with POMS.

[00:31:00.01]
- So you're watching very closely?

[00:31:01.08]
- No, well we grow Sydney
rocks which are native,

[00:31:04.01]
so we're not affected by POMS.

[00:31:06.00]
- Yes.
- Pacific oysters are

[00:31:07.08]
Japanese in origin.
- Yes.

[00:31:10.03]
- So, but we do have similar diseases.

[00:31:12.05]
We have QX and winter mortality.

[00:31:14.03]
- Yeah. Yeah.

[00:31:15.06]
- But it's sad because

[00:31:17.03]
it's 35% of the oyster
industry in Australia

[00:31:20.06]
has just been wiped out.

[00:31:21.06]
So it's putting pressure on us.

[00:31:23.04]
- Yeah.

[00:31:25.03]
- Yeah, so we're part of
Australia's Oyster Coast,

[00:31:27.07]
so that's 49 different oyster farmers

[00:31:30.02]
from 8 different estuaries.

[00:31:34.09]
- Do we have to count them, Gillian?

[00:31:37.00]
- Yep, roughly.
- Right.

[00:31:38.01]
- Because there's prizes
for who gets the most,

[00:31:40.00]
who gets the biggest.

[00:31:41.00]
You've got to bring back
evidence of your biggest one.

[00:31:45.03]
So what would be an easy, you know--

[00:31:47.02]
- That's the one on the other side.

[00:31:48.04]
- Yeah.

[00:31:49.05]
- So we'll go to our shell bed.

[00:31:51.08]
- Yeah.

[00:31:52.07]
- And then we'll go down to the bridge.

[00:31:54.07]
- So we'll chip them off the bridge?

[00:31:57.09]
Let's go!

[00:32:00.07]
- [Dom] Know what we're
looking for, Solly?

[00:32:02.05]
- [Solly] No.

[00:32:03.04]
- No?

[00:32:04.04]
Well, we'll have to find one.

[00:32:09.00]
Looking for those nice big Pacific.

[00:32:11.01]
- Pacifics?

[00:32:12.01]
- Yep.

[00:32:13.04]
Rocks.

[00:32:15.05]
Can you see any oysters?

[00:32:19.08]
Oh, look.

[00:32:21.06]
[hammer chipping]

[00:32:24.09]
This is what you're looking for, Solly.

[00:32:28.04]
- [Solly] That?

[00:32:29.07]
One of them.

[00:32:32.05]
Did you bring a bucket?

[00:32:33.05]
Shoulda brought a bucket.

[00:32:34.06]
- No, see look. He's big.

[00:32:36.09]
- Yeah.

[00:32:37.09]
- This one's white.

[00:32:39.03]
Just look for the really big ones.

[00:32:41.06]
You alright?

[00:32:43.02]
We're trying to get rid of
some of the Pacific oysters.

[00:32:50.09]
Fisheries guys came out
a couple of weeks ago

[00:32:53.07]
and they had a look around the lake

[00:32:55.08]
and found that there
was quite a few of them,

[00:32:59.00]
so we'll try and cull some off,

[00:33:01.09]
kill them off so that
in the next few months

[00:33:05.00]
when it's spawning
season there's a few less

[00:33:08.09]
that are going to spawn and hopefully

[00:33:11.05]
will stop establishing a bigger colony

[00:33:15.01]
of introduced oysters.

[00:33:23.03]
They're everywhere.

[00:33:25.09]
They're well hidden.

[00:33:37.04]
[gentle acoustic guitar music]

[00:33:59.01]
- [Pip] Is that good?

[00:34:03.05]
[traffic noise]

[00:34:08.00]
[truck motor humming]

[00:34:13.09]
[whirring and clanking]

[00:34:32.06]
- [Radio Announcer] There's a
change of weather on its way.

[00:34:34.02]
Plenty of cloud rolling
across the coast today.

[00:34:36.09]
In fact, we're in for a wet one.

[00:34:38.05]
And a very high chance of showers today

[00:34:40.06]
and increasing into this afternoon.

[00:34:43.01]
Heavy falls are very likely...

[00:34:44.04]
[text message alert]

[00:34:52.04]
[boat motor idling]

[00:34:58.09]
[text message alert]

[00:35:05.06]
- Thank you.

[00:35:16.07]
[oyster bags rattling]

[00:35:24.09]
[text message alert]

[00:35:31.09]
[boat motor humming]

[00:36:10.01]
[boat motor humming]

[00:36:31.07]
- This is the entrance down here

[00:36:34.08]
and this area is where most of us

[00:36:38.08]
have all our product
that we're going to sell.

[00:36:44.08]
It gets nice and fat down here

[00:36:46.05]
and it's nice and salty.

[00:36:50.02]
And this has been shut
for nearly two months.

[00:36:56.05]
We normally don't have an issue.

[00:36:59.02]
If we fail one round then the next time

[00:37:01.04]
then we'll just pass easily,

[00:37:04.04]
but for some reason it hasn't happened.

[00:37:15.02]
We test for E. coli, so
we're looking for poo,

[00:37:20.03]
but the problem with doing it cheaply

[00:37:27.04]
is that we just test for poo.

[00:37:29.00]
So it could be bird poo,
it could be human poo,

[00:37:33.03]
but you just can't tell.

[00:37:35.09]
[oyster bags rattling]

[00:37:39.01]
We can apparently pay for

[00:37:44.06]
a more expensive test

[00:37:47.02]
and they can determine
whether it's human or bird,

[00:37:51.09]
which if we fail again I
think we're going to have to.

[00:37:56.04]
And then we know if there's
a problem somewhere in town

[00:38:00.03]
or if it is just birds.

[00:38:04.01]
We need the lake open for Christmas

[00:38:06.05]
to get through our Christmas orders,

[00:38:09.02]
and I'm sure lots of the
other farmers have got a few.

[00:38:15.08]
So it's a bit of a worry.

[00:38:21.02]
Did another round Tuesday
so we should find out today

[00:38:27.05]
if it's open down here.

[00:38:34.03]
Hello. I'm good, thank you.

[00:38:41.09]
Yep.

[00:38:45.06]
[dog panting]

[00:38:48.09]
Alright, can you send that through

[00:38:50.06]
to the Food Authority as soon as possible?

[00:38:56.02]
Thank you.

[00:38:58.05]
OK, bye-bye.

[00:39:00.08]
Yay, we're open!

[00:39:04.00]
Hello!

[00:39:07.03]
I think she's here.

[00:39:11.00]
Safe meats were less than one,

[00:39:13.07]
14 was two-- uh, 14 was four.

[00:39:18.02]
Water and 11 was two.

[00:39:22.01]
- That's great.
- That's good.

[00:39:26.04]
- Morning.
- Good morning.

[00:39:27.09]
- How are you?

[00:39:30.03]
[text message alert]

[00:39:57.06]
- They're good.

[00:40:00.09]
[whirring and clanking]

[00:40:19.04]
The north coast is finishing.

[00:40:31.02]
No, we're in for a pretty crazy few weeks.

[00:40:36.02]
I need to get 1,000 bistro.

[00:40:41.05]
[boat motor humming]

[00:40:51.06]
[cutlery clinking]

[00:40:54.04]
- [Woman] Beautiful.

[00:40:55.08]
- [Pip] Are they good?
- Thank you very much.

[00:40:58.01]
- Absolutely beautiful.
- Oh, man.

[00:41:00.02]
- [Pip] Well, I'm doing
my Christmas delivery.

[00:41:01.06]
Are you here or home for Christmas?

[00:41:03.09]
- [Man] Home for Chrissy.

[00:41:05.04]
- [Pip] Fantastic.
- [Man] Mmm hmm.

[00:41:07.05]
[music playing on television]

[00:41:10.04]
[door slamming]

[00:41:21.03]
[text message alert]

[00:41:25.06]
[text message alert]

[00:41:33.04]
[text message alerts]

[00:42:06.00]
[boat motor humming]

[00:42:15.01]
[waves lapping]

[00:42:24.08]
[rock music playing on radio]

[00:43:21.01]
- Good opportunity to bag 'em,

[00:43:24.03]
might do palates or something.

[00:43:26.08]
Unfortunately it's whatever's
on special at Woolies.

[00:43:30.09]
- At least we're opening
and got clients coming.

[00:43:32.07]
- [Dom] Yep.

[00:43:39.08]
[oyster shells clattering]

[00:43:55.00]
- We're up to 500 dozen.

[00:43:56.09]
- 500?

[00:43:59.05]
Far out. Yay!

[00:44:01.08]
- I know.

[00:44:04.08]
- 900 to go?

[00:44:06.05]
- 900 to go.

[00:44:12.05]
- You weren't going
home to sleep, were ya?

[00:44:14.06]
- Huh?

[00:44:15.04]
- You don't need to sleep, do ya?

[00:44:16.09]
- No.

[00:44:30.03]
- [Newswoman] There's some
health warnings out this week

[00:44:32.01]
as a particularly nasty
strain of both influenza

[00:44:35.06]
and gastroenteritis hits
the South Coast region.

[00:44:39.02]
People should be aware of
their own personal hygiene

[00:44:42.02]
and keep an eye on others as well.

[00:44:45.02]
[boat motor humming]

[00:44:48.02]
- It probably would have been

[00:44:49.00]
the 2nd or 3rd of January, we all went out

[00:44:52.03]
and harvested a heap of oysters

[00:44:54.03]
and then four days
later, had a phone call.

[00:44:58.09]
"Your oysters have made someone sick."

[00:45:02.01]
And then there was a few more phone calls

[00:45:04.03]
going around to other farmers saying

[00:45:06.09]
that their oysters had made people sick.

[00:45:09.07]
And at that time there was
all the tourists in town

[00:45:13.05]
and apparently a lot of them
were sick with norovirus.

[00:45:17.03]
And then it spread pretty much

[00:45:18.08]
through all of Merimbula Lake.

[00:45:21.09]
So we've shut the lake for harvest.

[00:45:27.02]
We decided that would be the best option,

[00:45:29.09]
and then we're going to
test Monday for norovirus,

[00:45:34.09]
which is--
- [Sol] What's norovirus?

[00:45:36.05]
- Norovirus is a gastro bug.

[00:45:42.06]
If there is sewage in the water,

[00:45:46.08]
it could contaminate all our oysters

[00:45:50.04]
because they filter feed.

[00:45:52.04]
Or maybe some of these
people had that bug,

[00:45:56.07]
vomited in the water, went
through our oyster leases.

[00:46:00.01]
Or it could be that
there's so many people here

[00:46:03.00]
at the moment and they're all
in caravan parks and motels

[00:46:07.08]
and we're all living on top of each other,

[00:46:10.01]
and it's very contagious.

[00:46:12.00]
So hopefully it wasn't the oysters

[00:46:15.01]
making people sick, because
we sold 2,000 dozen oysters

[00:46:20.07]
and apparently have made two people sick.

[00:46:23.08]
- [Sol] Is the top lake shut?

[00:46:26.00]
- I'm going to keep it shut

[00:46:27.01]
until we get the results back, Sol.

[00:46:30.07]
- It's up to you?

[00:46:32.06]
- Yeah, unfortunately
that was left up to me.

[00:46:35.07]
- Why?

[00:46:37.01]
- Well, that is the coordinator's job

[00:46:39.07]
but it's a hard decision to make.

[00:46:43.05]
'Cause look how many people are around

[00:46:46.08]
and they all want to buy oysters.

[00:46:49.04]
Can't do it.

[00:46:52.01]
[plane propeller whirring]

[00:46:57.02]
[gentle acoustic guitar music]

[00:47:16.06]
So, I went out with the Food Authority

[00:47:19.04]
and collected oyster meat samples

[00:47:21.05]
from all our regular sample
sites plus a few extra.

[00:47:26.07]
So with the-- is it norovirus?

[00:47:30.03]
- Yes, norovirus.

[00:47:31.07]
- Yep. We did the sampling,
I think it was last year.

[00:47:37.02]
- Oh, with SAGI?

[00:47:38.02]
- Yes.

[00:47:39.01]
- Those tests all came back

[00:47:40.08]
negative.
- Negative, OK.

[00:47:42.08]
Is there like a magic number, you know,

[00:47:45.01]
with the E. coli, it's
two or whatever it is

[00:47:50.04]
has to be below?

[00:47:52.00]
[cell phone ringing]
- Not really, I think

[00:47:54.00]
because the viruses can...

[00:47:59.05]
- Yep. So if you've got it, you've got it.

[00:48:02.04]
- I think you have to get a negative.

[00:48:05.09]
- OK.

[00:48:08.00]
For a positive.

[00:48:10.04]
OK, alright.

[00:48:13.07]
So we need a zero, a negative.

[00:48:15.08]
- Yeah, that's it. Yeah.

[00:48:20.01]
[boat motor humming]

[00:48:34.07]
[thunder rumbling]

[00:48:57.05]
[boat motor humming]

[00:49:22.06]
- Back to where it was.

[00:49:26.09]
Need a block.

[00:49:40.09]
Providing us with some good shaped rocks.

[00:49:52.04]
- That'll do for now.

[00:49:53.02]
- Have to-- oh.

[00:49:57.04]
Ow.

[00:49:59.02]
We'll have to bring out
a concrete block for it.

[00:50:04.08]
Wanna jump in?

[00:50:07.00]
Should hold it for now.

[00:50:22.06]
- [Man On Phone] There's a
pump station in Merimbula

[00:50:24.06]
who lost control for awhile.

[00:50:25.09]
The overflow from that
would then flow down through

[00:50:28.09]
Sapphire Valley Caravan Park

[00:50:30.07]
into--
- Oh, yep.

[00:50:31.08]
- into Yellow Finch Creek,

[00:50:32.09]
and then down into back lake.

[00:50:35.02]
So, talking with the Food Authority,

[00:50:37.00]
he's not that worried about that one.

[00:50:38.07]
- Yep.

[00:50:39.06]
- You got nowhere near
the amount of debris

[00:50:41.04]
and carnage in Merimbula Lake, I think,

[00:50:43.00]
that Pambula Lake has, I'm only guessing?

[00:50:45.07]
- No, it doesn't look too bad.

[00:50:47.02]
We were out there this
morning and it's dirty

[00:50:49.03]
but it doesn't look too bad.

[00:50:51.01]
- So you should-- well,
other than the fact

[00:50:53.00]
that you're still closed
awaiting some meat results,

[00:50:57.03]
meat results should be back tomorrow.

[00:50:59.09]
- No, we've got them. We've got them.

[00:51:02.07]
- You've got them?

[00:51:03.05]
- Yeah, we got them on Friday.

[00:51:05.04]
- And what do they come back?

[00:51:07.08]
- We had a positive in the top lake

[00:51:11.07]
and it was site 16A and B
which are right on the edge

[00:51:16.04]
of the hole before you
go down the channel.

[00:51:18.09]
And all the entrance,
they were high in E. coli

[00:51:23.03]
but there was no positive for norovirus.

[00:51:27.01]
- [Man On Phone] Well I mean,
it's cold comfort to know

[00:51:28.06]
that obviously as a result of all this

[00:51:30.03]
we're going to get big,
fat, plump oysters, but--

[00:51:32.07]
- Yes.

[00:51:33.06]
- But what's the point
of having a fat oyster

[00:51:34.05]
if you can't sell them at the moment.

[00:51:35.08]
- Yeah, we can't sell them.

[00:51:36.06]
- So, is there anything else

[00:51:37.05]
I can help you with at the moment, Dom?

[00:51:40.00]
- No, I think that was about it.

[00:51:42.04]
- Thanks, Dom.

[00:51:43.02]
- No worries, thank you.

[00:51:44.00]
Thank you for your hard work.

[00:51:46.01]
- See ya.
- No worries, bye-bye.

[00:51:48.00]
- Bye.

[00:51:52.07]
- Cool, we got away with it.

[00:52:00.08]
Nice, I will let them all know.

[00:52:05.06]
[text message alert]

[00:52:16.03]
Nice.

[00:52:19.05]
[novelty horn ringtone]

[00:52:21.01]
No sewage.

[00:52:25.05]
- Good.
- Good, good.

[00:52:27.02]
Pambula got sewage.

[00:52:29.00]
- [Aaron] They did?

[00:52:29.09]
- They did.

[00:52:32.09]
[novelty horn ringtone]

[00:52:34.09]
Beep beep, beep beep.

[00:52:37.04]
Everyone happy now.

[00:52:40.00]
[traffic noise]

[00:53:08.09]
[truck engine revving]

[00:53:24.08]
- [Pip] Go Eddie, run on, run on, kick!

[00:53:27.00]
Nice, and again, yes!

[00:53:30.02]
- [Eddie] Mum.

[00:53:31.01]
- Yeah?

[00:53:33.05]
Alec!

[00:53:35.00]
That was good.

[00:53:35.08]
It was a bit of a toe poke

[00:53:37.01]
but it was really good
because you looked at it.

[00:53:38.08]
Jess! Sol.

[00:53:40.08]
Good job, Jess got it though.

[00:53:42.01]
You're doing very well.

[00:53:43.06]
That's it, Jess!

[00:53:44.07]
Alright, Sol, down to Jolie.

[00:53:46.08]
But I'm going to do some
defending this time, come on!

[00:53:51.04]
[plane engine roaring]

[00:54:05.01]
- Good on the back.

[00:54:08.03]
Doing it out of the boat.

[00:54:10.03]
- [Aaron] Hey?

[00:54:11.02]
- Good on the back,
doing it out of the boat.

[00:54:14.05]
That's a good stretch.

[00:54:17.03]
That's what makes funny feelings.

[00:54:21.08]
[gentle instrumental music]

[00:54:25.02]
[dog barking]

[00:54:36.08]
[oyster bags splashing]

[00:54:46.09]
We roll the bags every month

[00:54:48.07]
and that's to kill off all the seaweed

[00:54:51.06]
that grows on the oysters,
and it strengthens

[00:54:55.09]
its abductor muscle to
keep the oyster closed,

[00:54:58.07]
which gives it a good long shelf life.

[00:55:02.01]
- [Radio Announcer]
ABC South East weather.

[00:55:06.06]
It's looking like a hot Easter.

[00:55:08.05]
We've got winds out of the north bringing

[00:55:10.06]
high humidity and some
pretty warm temperatures.

[00:55:13.04]
In fact temperatures around about

[00:55:14.04]
five to eight degrees above
average for this time of year.

[00:55:17.03]
Should see us nudging 30 degrees,

[00:55:19.03]
so one last taste of
summer coming your way.

[00:55:22.06]
- [Dom] Summer months, I
would like to have them

[00:55:25.02]
out of the water for five days,

[00:55:26.08]
and in winter I roll them for seven days.

[00:55:30.04]
March, April, it's always hot, humid,

[00:55:35.04]
and I had some bags rolled on the lake.

[00:55:39.00]
[truck engine revving]

[00:55:43.07]
And they'd only been out of
the water for three days,

[00:55:46.00]
I think maybe I rolled them
and there was some algae

[00:55:49.05]
that was toxic to oysters

[00:55:51.09]
and they had a nice gutful of that--

[00:55:54.01]
the oysters were really fat.

[00:55:56.02]
I think it was only sort of 32 degrees,

[00:55:58.08]
but the humidity was sort
of 90, it was just horrible.

[00:56:03.09]
And I had them out of
the water for two days,

[00:56:09.02]
drove past the lease and I just smelt this

[00:56:11.02]
almighty horrible stink.

[00:56:13.06]
When I looked at them
and they were all just

[00:56:15.03]
popping open and I killed,
well, a lot of oysters.

[00:56:20.05]
It was devastating.

[00:56:25.08]
They were all ready to sell, too.

[00:56:27.05]
Which, I mean it hurts either way, but,

[00:56:33.07]
we're just throwing
thousands and thousands

[00:56:36.01]
of dollars' worth of oysters away.

[00:56:45.06]
[indistinct chatter]

[00:57:00.02]
Can you bring two more?

[00:57:39.05]
Eight.

[00:57:47.04]
[truck engine rumbling]

[00:58:08.05]
Ah, too far.

[00:58:19.08]
[oysters shells clattering]

[00:58:49.04]
[oysters shells crunching]

[00:59:43.07]
[boat motor humming]

[00:59:48.00]
You know, as farmers we
do get to see the changes.

[00:59:51.08]
They're very subtle, but when
you look back over the years

[00:59:55.03]
and you realize how much
things have changed--

[01:00:00.04]
our weather has shifted
and now the extremes

[01:00:03.09]
are just crazy extremes.

[01:00:07.05]
It certainly seems to be
getting a lot warmer down here.

[01:00:11.00]
Previous years it's normally
very cold in winter,

[01:00:14.06]
but the last few years
it hasn't gotten cold.

[01:00:18.09]
The oysters haven't stopped growing

[01:00:20.03]
and a lot of the new
guys haven't noticed--

[01:00:24.06]
well, probably don't realize

[01:00:28.08]
that in winter in Merimbula
Lake, nothing grew.

[01:00:33.03]
And the last, probably four years,

[01:00:37.05]
nothing has stopped growing.

[01:00:39.00]
It's just been very
consistent with growth,

[01:00:44.05]
which isn't-- not a bad
thing for an oyster farmer,

[01:00:49.03]
but it isn't normal.

[01:00:51.05]
Potentially it will bring
some of the problems

[01:00:53.09]
that the north coast are having now,

[01:00:55.07]
will bring it further down the coast.

[01:01:00.04]
So I think the QX and that sort of stuff,

[01:01:04.00]
which seems to like the warmer climate,

[01:01:08.09]
could be something that will be an issue

[01:01:12.09]
that we don't have now
and it could be coming.

[01:01:23.00]
QX is a disease that started
in the Queensland area,

[01:01:28.01]
so they called it "Queensland Unknown."

[01:01:31.06]
And when it strikes an estuary

[01:01:34.07]
it kills 99% of all Sydney rock oysters.

[01:01:40.06]
No river has recovered from having QX.

[01:01:45.00]
If QX hit tomorrow, that would be it.

[01:01:48.01]
There would be no more
oyster farming for us.

[01:02:14.01]
[oyster shells clattering]

[01:02:17.03]
- What a way to spend a Sunday evening.

[01:02:21.05]
I think as a farmer we
know-- even in boom times,

[01:02:24.06]
even in good times--
there's always a drought

[01:02:27.05]
around the corner,

[01:02:28.05]
there's always a flood around the corner,

[01:02:30.06]
there's always a threat of disease.

[01:02:33.05]
And that is the reality of the industry.

[01:02:38.00]
- [Dom] Should be alright.

[01:02:39.04]
- [Pip] Thanks, champ.

[01:02:42.01]
To be sustainable we need to be resilient,

[01:02:45.04]
so I've been looking at secondary species

[01:02:48.05]
that are advantageous to
rising seawater temperatures,

[01:02:52.03]
that have no known diseases.

[01:02:57.03]
I have to be thinking wisely
to make our farm sustainable,

[01:03:01.00]
otherwise my kids won't
probably have a chance

[01:03:03.09]
to have a farm in the future.

[01:03:19.03]
[water trickling]

[01:03:31.04]
One of the ways we can
ensure the future of our farm

[01:03:34.06]
is buying "spat," or baby
oysters, out of hatcheries.

[01:03:43.09]
- [Dom] Might just move
them out of the sun.

[01:03:49.06]
- Yeah, I'll put them over here.

[01:04:01.08]
- [Dom] The benefit from a hatchery is

[01:04:04.00]
in the wild, when we put out our slats,

[01:04:06.01]
we just don't know what
we're going to get.

[01:04:07.08]
Some years you might get
millions and millions

[01:04:10.02]
and other years you get
pretty much nothing.

[01:04:12.09]
And a hatchery should be
able to provide that security

[01:04:16.00]
that we can order 3 million every year

[01:04:18.06]
and we know that in three years' time

[01:04:20.03]
we should have 2 million
oysters coming through,

[01:04:23.08]
and it just gives us security
to keep expanding our farm.

[01:04:30.07]
Hopefully they all sink.

[01:04:32.09]
If they all sink, then we're all good.

[01:04:40.05]
Because it's expensive.

[01:04:42.04]
They're nearly two cents each now,

[01:04:46.01]
but the hatchery stuff you can also get

[01:04:48.08]
the disease resistance, which is sort of

[01:04:51.05]
another security which I think

[01:04:54.04]
the whole industry needs and
our farm definitely needs.

[01:05:29.09]
- [Radio Announcer] We
are currently tracking

[01:05:30.08]
some very cold air moving up
from the Great Southern Ocean.

[01:05:34.03]
As it interacts with those warm waters

[01:05:36.01]
currently sitting off our coast,

[01:05:37.09]
we're likely to see an east
coast low develop tonight.

[01:05:41.05]
This east coast low is going to see

[01:05:42.09]
some pretty strong winds,
heavy rain, flash flooding

[01:05:45.07]
and some very large seas over coming days.

[01:05:48.06]
Weather conditions
deteriorating quite a bit

[01:05:51.04]
as those winds really strengthen overnight

[01:05:53.01]
and they're going to
drive in a lot of rain

[01:05:54.05]
out there from the Tasman Sea...

[01:05:57.02]
[raindrops pattering]

[01:06:00.04]
[thunder rumbling]

[01:06:03.05]
[heavy rain falling]

[01:06:17.00]
[thunder crashing]

[01:06:22.06]
[torrential rain falling]

[01:06:41.00]
- They're still predicting
200 to 400 mils of rain,

[01:06:44.04]
and up to 100--

[01:06:46.01]
- Who is?

[01:06:46.09]
- The Bega Valley, the
official Bega Valley.

[01:06:51.05]
- It's the official Bega Valley
weatherman who's saying it.

[01:06:55.02]
- I know.

[01:06:57.07]
But look at Candelo River
at 2 o'clock this afternoon.

[01:07:09.05]
[rain falling and thunder rumbling]

[01:07:21.03]
- [Newswoman] This was what
it was like at the height

[01:07:23.03]
of last night's storm.

[01:07:25.01]
13-meter waves demolished
everything in their path...

[01:07:28.06]
- [Dom] Oh dear.
- ...reaching right

[01:07:29.09]
into people's backyards.

[01:07:32.06]
These beachfront homes at
Collaroy were on the frontline.

[01:07:36.02]
Back fences and garden
furniture were washed away.

[01:07:40.00]
- Hey, skip.
- This is an east coast low,

[01:07:43.06]
not a cyclone.

[01:07:45.03]
- These things look the
same, but they're not.

[01:07:49.01]
They look like a cyclone.

[01:07:52.09]
Not quite as bad.

[01:07:55.00]
[thunder crashing]

[01:08:03.08]
Shit, nearly washed our shed away.

[01:08:36.05]
Looks alright.

[01:08:47.03]
It's getting lower.

[01:08:50.04]
2.8.

[01:08:56.06]
Salty.

[01:08:58.06]
It is right.

[01:09:01.09]
At least they won't die, not today.

[01:09:26.08]
[boat motor humming]

[01:09:51.06]
With that east coast low,

[01:09:53.07]
because the tides were so high

[01:09:55.02]
and the swell came over
the top of the sand dune

[01:09:58.07]
that protects the entrance to our lake,

[01:10:01.03]
the swell just tore all the sand dunes out

[01:10:04.04]
and then we had waves coming into the lake

[01:10:06.09]
and they were breaking on our
oyster leases down the front.

[01:10:11.00]
And our one lease just the
other side of the bridge

[01:10:14.07]
where all the flow comes through

[01:10:16.08]
just got devastated with debris.

[01:10:22.00]
And it was snapping all our lines,

[01:10:25.03]
ripping bags off and, yeah,

[01:10:27.05]
generally making a hell of a mess.

[01:10:29.03]
- So I fished them out for you, anyway,

[01:10:31.01]
I don't know whose they were.

[01:10:32.03]
I just found Wheeler's
phone number and rang him

[01:10:35.03]
and he come around, Chuck Wheeler,

[01:10:37.09]
and said they weren't his.

[01:10:39.08]
- Yeah, no, they're ours.

[01:10:40.06]
- They're yours for sure?

[01:10:42.02]
- Thank you.

[01:10:43.07]
- No worries.

[01:10:46.00]
- I hope there's not too
many more floating around.

[01:10:48.03]
- Yeah, well, you hope
they come from there

[01:10:50.01]
and come this way, otherwise
there might be some out to sea.

[01:10:53.00]
- Yeah. That happens.

[01:10:55.07]
- Does it?

[01:10:56.07]
- Oh, yeah.
- Oh, I didn't know that.

[01:11:00.09]
- Alright, thank you.

[01:11:02.05]
I might bring the ute
around and chuck them

[01:11:04.02]
into the back of the ute.

[01:11:05.08]
Thank you very much.
- Alright.

[01:11:15.02]
[tranquil instrumental music]

[01:11:31.08]
- [Pip] You're lucky that
you have that much rain

[01:11:33.06]
when you have one of those
events that you're closed.

[01:11:37.05]
Because you're not worrying
about trying to harvest or sell,

[01:11:39.08]
you're just primarily
focused on your farm,

[01:11:42.07]
rebuilding your infrastructure,

[01:11:44.03]
making sure that you've
collected as much of your stock

[01:11:47.00]
as you can possibly find,

[01:11:48.06]
making sure you're getting
rid of as much debris

[01:11:50.05]
as possible that's come into the lake

[01:11:52.08]
so it's not going to damage
any more infrastructure.

[01:12:08.03]
- He's still good.

[01:12:10.08]
[boat motor humming]

[01:12:13.07]
[pelicans flapping and splashing]

[01:12:20.07]
We're pretty lucky in Australia,

[01:12:22.03]
especially on the New South
Wales coast at the moment,

[01:12:24.09]
that we're able to produce oysters still.

[01:12:28.07]
Whereas in the countries
around the world, they're gone.

[01:12:32.04]
Even the north coast of New South Wales,

[01:12:35.00]
which used to be huge producers,

[01:12:36.04]
they're no longer able to grow oysters.

[01:12:38.08]
But that's due to disease, but who knows.

[01:12:41.06]
I'm sure it's all related.

[01:12:43.02]
The oysters are stressed
because it's too hot for them

[01:12:45.04]
or whatever, and they get
disease and they're all dead.

[01:12:54.08]
You're pretty stuck, birdie.

[01:12:58.07]
It's not looking good
for the old prawn net.

[01:13:04.03]
Don't move, little birdie.

[01:13:23.04]
Right, bring your foot back.

[01:13:57.02]
There we go.

[01:13:59.02]
Saved him!

[01:14:02.02]
Wrecked the net.

[01:14:05.01]
I'll blame that one on the
kids, they leave the net there.

[01:14:13.04]
Didn't even bite me.

[01:14:23.05]
[gentle instrumental music]

[01:14:31.00]
[birds calling]

[01:14:46.02]
- It looks shallow out there.

[01:15:09.00]
- [Pip] We're in good times at the moment.

[01:15:11.04]
In all honesty, we are.

[01:15:13.03]
We've been-- we've been pretty lucky.

[01:15:16.02]
But times can change in a heartbeat.

[01:15:19.08]
If QX was to hit today,

[01:15:22.00]
tomorrow I wouldn't have
any oysters to sell.

[01:15:26.04]
We'd probably lose 99% of what we own

[01:15:31.06]
in a night.

[01:15:32.08]
And that's the reality of farming.

[01:15:35.00]
Diseases are out there.

[01:15:36.09]
We might not get it, and we might.

[01:15:40.04]
So we need to do everything
in our possible power

[01:15:42.08]
to prevent that from happening.

[01:15:56.06]
- [Dom] They keep telling me

[01:15:57.06]
that they want to take over the farm

[01:15:59.00]
and keep the tradition going.

[01:16:01.06]
So I keep saying to them,

[01:16:02.08]
"You don't have to become
an oyster farmer but,

[01:16:06.00]
"if you like, then it's here."

[01:16:09.06]
It's a hard thing because, yeah,

[01:16:11.02]
when times are good, it's good.

[01:16:13.00]
But I know what it's like
to go through the bad times

[01:16:16.07]
and I don't wish that on anyone,
and definitely not my kids.

[01:16:21.04]
So I'd be happy if they
chose something different.

[01:16:26.05]
But yeah, if they're keen

[01:16:27.08]
and want to do the hard yards, well.

[01:16:38.06]
Look at this one.

[01:16:44.01]
Different breeds.

[01:16:46.03]
- What's that?

[01:16:49.08]
- A clam.

[01:16:50.06]
- [Pip] At the end of the
day we're one big family

[01:16:52.06]
and our oysters are part of our family.

[01:16:55.03]
And if we can combine
our love for each other

[01:17:00.00]
and our love for our oysters
and continue to make this

[01:17:02.08]
business work, grow, be
sustainable for both our kids,

[01:17:07.04]
then that's what we aiming for.

[01:17:10.03]
- Where, just there?

[01:17:12.01]
No, it's a piece of weed.

[01:17:14.08]
- Huh?

[01:17:15.07]
- A piece of weed.

[01:17:27.09]
- I will, I will Dad! I will!

[01:17:39.00]
[anchor chain rattling]

[01:17:47.04]
[Sol] Anchors away!

[01:17:49.02]
- [Eddie] Anchors away!
- [Dom] Anchors away!

[01:17:54.04]
- [Sol] Let's go!

[01:18:00.06]
[serene instrumental music]