North Queensland is on the cusp of developing an oyster industry to rival the lucrative Sydney rock oyster market and inject more than $80 million into the state's economy.
It was not exactly what John Collison had planned for his retirement, but the 71-year-old has become an unlikely trailblazer in establishing an industry in the country's north.
Mr Collison moved to Bowen after spending decades as an oyster farmer in New South Wales.
It did not take long before he put the waders back on after discovering a healthy blacklip oyster population.
"I looked on the foreshore and there were huge oysters on the rocks," he said.
"I thought I might have a bit of a fiddle with that because I'm retired."
Mr Collison has spent the past few years selling wild-caught blacklip oysters to local seafood shops.
"You can't run a business on wild catch. You need a hatchery," he said.
Eight years on and his dreams of establishing a permanent hatchery have come to fruition with 110,000 blacklip oyster babies delivered to Mr Collison's farm.
"The only oysters grown in Queensland is in the south-east corner, which is about 15 per cent of the state.
"There's 85 per cent of the state not growing oysters, so the potential is huge.
"Sydney rock industry is worth $40 million. I can't see why we can't do double that up here."
What sets these oysters apart?
Blacklip oysters can survive the warmer waters of tropical north Queensland and taste sweeter than their southern counterparts.
"They don't have a metallic background flavour of other oysters," Mr Collison said.
"They're just sweet, they are beautiful here, and they're fresh."
Griffith University molecular biologist Carmel McDougall has spent years researching these molluscs, which grow much larger than Sydney rock oysters.
"The largest ones, you would need a knife and fork I think," she said.
Dr McDougall said the oyster industry could eventually mirror the wine industry.
"I think there will be a great interest in sampling oysters from other regions as well. I can see an oyster tasting plate and people sampling and picking out what their favourite is," she said.
Plenty of potential for jobs and industry
Mr Collison has been working closely with the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries to source a reliable supply of baby oysters.
Max Wingfield, a senior research scientist with the department, has spearheaded the project, which started in October.
"The existing industry is very much focused on the Sydney rock oysters, which are only suitable for the extreme south-east of Queensland," he said.
Mr Wingfield said the work done at the Bribie Island Aquaculture Research Centre, north of Brisbane, was prompted by growing calls to develop an oyster industry in the north.
"Oyster farming is also potentially compatible with Indigenous livelihood. It's something that could be done for Indigenous groups and communities."
