A research project to increase the size of an oyster species gets a helping hand from Pilbara prisoners

Groundbreaking research into the size of an edible rock oyster species in the Pilbara has been given an unlikely helping hand from convicts. Minimum security prisoners from the Roebourne Work Camp have been monitoring the growth and mortality rates of black-lip oysters in an attempt to make the species of restaurant quality and size. The project, which has oyster farms in both Dampier and Cossack, has received funding from both the Federal and State governments. Maxima Pearling is the organisation leading the research and development. Maxima research officer Warren Ure said the prisoners’ contributions were vital to the success of the project. “We’re still at the experimental stage, so it’s difficult to hire workers,” Mr Ure said. “The prisoners were willing hands, and they helped with bookkeeping, measuring the oysters, and general lab procedures.” In the latest trial, 30, 000 oysters were hatched in a facility in Perth and shipped to the Pilbara. Prison assistant superintendent Kelly Rutherford said the project was a beneficial way to teach the prisoners skills in a non-mining industry. “Mining is the big industry here,” she said. “But research and aquaculture offer a totally different kind of training. “It set an example and encouraged prisoners to participate in other employment and educational opportunities.” The project has already produced two types of species, which are said to have a distinct taste from other types of oysters, and could soon be on restaurant menus.