Fishing groups and producers in Tasmania are anxiously waiting for the results of tests determining the impact of a new algal bloom on the east coast.
According to themercury.com.au, shellfish in Great Oyster Bay are being tested after the recurrence of a deadly, toxin-producing algal bloom which damaged fisheries last year.
"All we've been told is that it has recurred in Great Oyster Bay and there are high readings there, and that up our way, Ansons Bay and surrounds, there were lower levels," Tasmanian Rock Lobster Fishermen's Association chief executive officer, Rodney Trelogge, said.
Last year was a difficult one for the state's seafood producers, with the algal bloom resulting in the introduction of a ban on eating shellfish from much of Tasmania, as well as a worldwide recall on mussels and a short season for scallop, abalone and rock lobster fishers.
Tasmania seafood producers aren't the only ones in strife at the moment. Earlier this year Hawkesbury oyster farmers in NSW had millions of oysters wiped out following an outbreak of Pacific Oyster Mortality Syndrome.
Many of the region's 15 growers are sceptical they'll have any produce remaining by the end of the year.