ON Wednesday 15 February, local oyster farmers descended onto the foreshore of the Nambucca River for the mass industry-led clean-up event ‘Tide to Tip’.

This is the fourth year of the event, which is organised by OceanWatch Australia, that sees oyster growers lead marine debris clean-ups in estuaries across the state.

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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.

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.

“The OceanWatch Australia Tide to Tip Event is important for the health and community awareness of our river,” said Local oyster farmer Nicolas Tessier.

“We are looking forward to taking part this year and in the future.”

Tide to Tip involves 22 other estuaries from across NSW, WA, and QLD.

Not only do oyster farmers clean-up the area, participants also sort, curate and count the collected rubbish.

A summary of the waste is documented and analysed by the Australian Marine Debris Database – a program run by Tangaroa Blue Foundation.

In the previous three years the inaugural ‘Tide to Tip’ clean-up has resulted in the completion of 53 events.

Together with the help of 664 volunteers, over 30 tonnes of waste have been removed from our estuaries.

Partners include NSW Department of Primary Industries, South East and Hunter Local Land Services, Clean-up Australia, and OceanWatch Australia.

This project is supported by OceanWatch Australia, through funding from the Australian Government.