Oyster farming

Crown Lands issues Crown leases and licences (tenures) under the Crown Land Management Act 2016 for land-based oyster farming activities.

Land-based oyster sites on Crown land are strategically located near oyster growing areas and are often small in size and scarce. They are industrial in nature and mostly found in sensitive estuarine environments.

Crown Lands, the NSW Oyster Industry Sustainable Aquaculture Strategy Fourth Edition 2021 and the NSW planning system seek to protect land-based oyster sites from inappropriate uses and land-use conflict.

These fact sheets provide more detail about how Crown land in NSW can be used for oyster farming and related activities:

• Using Crown land for oyster farming (PDF, 1.3 MB)
• Leases and licenses for oyster farming on Crown land (PDF, 1.2 MB)

Native title and Aboriginal land rights legislation also affect oyster farming activities. For more information, read these fact sheets:

• How native title rights affect oyster farming tenures on Crown land (PDF, 817 KB)
• Information for Crown land tenants about Aboriginal land claim (PDF, 135 KB)
• Definition of terms relating to Aboriginal land claims (PDF, 83 KB)

Where a development application (DA) needs to be lodged by a tenure holder, landowner’s consent is required from Crown Lands.