Local oyster farmers will descend onto the foreshore of the Shoalhaven River in Yuin Country on Monday for the mass industry led clean-up event "Tide to Tip".
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It is the third year of the event, which is organised by OceanWatch Australia, and sees oyster growers lead marine debris clean-ups in estuaries across the state.
Over the past few years the oyster industry in the Shoalhaven Crookhaven has sold more than 6.5 million oysters to hungry shellfish lovers.
With 15 oyster farms perched on the banks of the river, the industry generates hundreds of jobs and is an important part of the local economy.
Out on the water every day, oyster farmers have an intimate knowledge of their local environment, and regularly collect rubbish they find floating in the estuary.
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Tide to Tip not only provides a way for fishers and farmers to give back to the estuaries on which their livelihoods depend but helps to ensure Australian waterways remain pristine and healthy for generations to come.
Local oyster farmer, Sally McLean from Jim Wild's Oysters said oyster farmers see first-hand the condition of Shoalhaven and Crookhaven rivers every day.
"Our farmers are always cleaning and caring for the water, as we depend on pristine conditions for our businesses," she said.
"Tide to Tip is an opportunity to bring all the farmers together to get larger loads of trash out of the water and foreshore, get the community involved and bring awareness to river health across NSW and Australia."
This annual clean-up event known involves 20 other estuaries from across NSW, WA and Queensland.
Not only will oyster farmers clean-up the area, participants will also sort, curate and count the collected rubbish, a summary of the waste will be documented and analysed by the Australian Marine Debris Database - a program run by Tangaroa Blue Foundation.
Since it began in 2020, the 'Tide to Tip" clean-up has involved more than 250 oyster farmers from 19 oyster growing regions of NSW and Queensland.
Together with the help of community groups 22.5 tonnes of waste has been removed from our estuaries.
Partners in the program include NSW Department of Primary Industries, South East and Hunter Local Land Services, Clean-up Australia, Shapes in the Sand, and OceanWatch Australia.
The clean-ups are supported by the Local Landcare Coordinator Initiative, which is funded by the NSW Government, and supported through the partnership of Local Land Services and Landcare NSW.
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