Best Cafe’s chef Lisa Chan serves up a plate of Bluff oysters a day after the shop received their first batch of the season. Sunday marked the start of the Bluff oyster season, and with that came keen southerners itching to get their hands on a dozen. Barnes Wild Bluff Oysters general manager Graeme Wright said there had not been big numbers of oysters yet, and most of those had been snaffled up by Southlanders. ‘‘The southerners are very, very keen on their Bluff oysters — demand is normal, as in it’s crazy.’’His small store in Invercargill had been inundated. Oceans and Fisheries under-secretary Jenny Marcroft said while 2026 was likely to be challenging, there were good numbers of new oysters beginning to grow.

Source: Otago Daily Times March 05, 2026 22:33 UTC