Dunalley oyster producer acquired by shellfish giant Yumbah

A Tasmanian oyster producer which has survived both bushfire and a devastating disease breakout has become part of one of Australia’s leading shellfish companies.

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A Tasmanian oyster farming business which survived both bushfire and a devastating oyster disease in the last decade has been taken over to become part of Australia’s leading shellfish aquaculture company.

SA-based Yumbah Aquaculture – which already has an abalone farm at Bicheno – has acquired Dunalley-based Cameron of Tasmania.

The aquaculture company paid an unspecified but “significant’’ amount for the Tasmanian business just months after buying Port Phillip Bay mussel producer Bay Sea Farms.

Ben Cameron

The latest acquisition will boost Yumbah’s shellfish production by 20 per cent.

Cameron of Tasmania was established 50 years ago. It survived bushfire in 2013 and three years later a POMS outbreak which saw it lose $1.5m worth of baby oysters in one day.

Joining forces with Yumbah will mean Cameron now has the security to ease its current concerns over a lack of available oyster spat (feed).

Third generation owner and general manager Ben Cameron said the company name would be retained along with staff.

Yumbah and Cameron are already involved in joint venture in South Australia – an oyster hatchery in Port Lincoln which allowed them to create critical oyster spat (feed) to support the oyster industry following the POMS outbreak.

Yumbah chief executive David Wood said bringing Cameron of Tasmania into the Yumbah portfolio was a natural progression.

“Acquiring a like-minded, established and scalable business like Cameron’s, with whom we already have a strong working relationship, further represents Yumbah’s ambition to be Australia’s leading shellfish aquaculture company,” Mr Wood said.

Graeme Cameron, hatchery manager, left, and general manager Ben Cameron at Cameron of Tasmania hatchery in Dunalley. Picture: SAM ROSEWARNE

Yumbah also has shellfish operations on Kangaroo Island in SA and Narrawong in Victoria.

The company was formed in 2016 when Southseas Abalone joined forces with Narrawong,

Mr Cameron, said the decision to join forces with Yumbah was based on a proven working history and the opportunities the onshore abalone-focused Yumbah could bring to his family business.

“Yumbah’s an innovator, as we’ve seen with its drive for vertical integration and commitment to research and development, so it’s exciting to be able come together with Yumbah on a larger scale and continue to bolster the shellfish farming industry,” Mr Cameron said.

Mr Cameron will take a seat on the Yumbah board and remain general manager of the business that will still carry his family name.

After completion of the Cameron transaction, Yumbah will produce about 700 tonnes of abalone per year, 350-400 tonnes of mussels and more than 150 million oyster spat and 2.6 million mature oysters.