John McKay said he couldn’t believe council didn’t contact any oyster farmers before proposing to revise the Companion Animals Control Procedure which will allow dogs to swim in Merimbula Lake within 50 metres of oyster leases. 

The proposed leash-free areas in question would allow dogs to roam free at the Merimbula Lake boat ramp, in the lake and foreshore on the eastern side of the boat ramp and south west for 150 metres.

Mr McKay is concerned that the bacteria in dog droppings could lead to contamination in an area where they direct harvest –that is collect oysters without the need to purify the product in water cleansed by ultraviolet filters for a period of 36 hours. 

“There are laws prohibiting dogs from being in food preparation areas but the whole lake is our food preparation area,” Mr McKay said. 

“It takes between five and seven years to get an export licence and dog faecal matter near our oyster leases could lead to bad water quality which could stop oyster exports.

“It may also mean we have to stop direct harvesting which will change the whole way we farm oysters.”

Merimbula Lake oyster farmer and Love our Lakes project officer Brett Weingarth said the problem with the proposed changes is the uncertainty of the affect. 

“The worry is that there will be a huge increase in dogs and therefore dog waste, this could be a real problem in summer.”

But Dominic Boyton, co-ordinator of the Merimbula quality assurance program for shellfish, thinks the onus falls on the dog owners.

“If people are responsible and clean up after their pet then there may not be a huge problem. But we all know not all owners are responsible and if this is the case we will all be affected.”