After two years and two knockbacks, Southern Clams' proposal to finish oysters in Otago Harbour will finally go out for public consultation.
The Otago Regional Council rejected two earlier resource consent applications from the Dunedin company to finish off 2-year-old oysters, farmed by New Zealand Bluff Oyster Company in Bluff Harbour, due to a lack of information.
The council this week confirmed it would notify the latest application, putting it out for public consultation today.
Since the failed applications, the company had consulted those affected, provided images of what the oyster farming operation would look like and commissioned a report on the proposal's environmental impacts.
The report by Ryder Consulting said the design of the proposed structure, coupled with its positioning in an area with high current flows and low ecological diversity, would ensure any adverse effects were ''less than minor''.
The oysters could not be finished in Bluff Harbour because its water quality was not of a high enough standard to allow for the direct sale of oysters.
However, the water quality in Otago Harbour was suitable for commercial shellfish-gathering.
Southern Clams managing director Roger Belton said it was good to ''get the show on the road'' and he was confident the changes made to the initial sites for the oyster farming meant they would now avoid important boating and yachting waters.
''We've made compromises. This is good for the city and a good use for the harbour rather than just as a shipping channel or for boating or recreation.
''There's room for us all.''
Southern Clams operations manager Dave Redshaw said in an experiment in Otago Harbour in 2012, five different batches were placed in the proposed growing areas and after two to four weeks met the standard for sale.
If Southern Clams was given consent for the oyster proposal, it expected that in 2017, 1.5 million oysters would be handled over a period of nine months, he said.
''This would increase the company's workload by 30%, in turn increasing employment.''
It would also mean that farmed Bluff oysters would be able to be sold in the shell to international markets.
''There has been virtually no live in-shell export of Bluff oysters since the 19th century, when there was a significant trade to Australia.''
