An oyster grower has been left devastated following the theft of dozens of his distinctive, high-end oysters – valued at around $60,000.
The gourmet Pacific oysters were nurtured in floating pods and grown in moulds, giving them a distinctively smooth shell branded with a “Q”.
Qyster founder Shaun Gregory told 1News he discovered a “whole line of bags of oysters were taken” in Kerikeri between 8pm and 10pm last night. He said the line taken was about 100m long.
“It would have been a team of them, as it was 2000 dozen of oysters.”
![Qyster founder Shaun Gregory.](https://tvnz-1-news-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/qyster-founder-shaun-gregory-KHQ3MA6RFBEIDIUBAAS3OTV4NQ.jpg?auth=bea585a77e50138edf715eb7a8f9b49f49cdebdc202611c9de88a19746f7a86b&quality=70&width=767&height=431&focal=215%2C93)
Gregory said “half a dozen people would be needed to open them before they go off”.
“I dare say a lot of them are likely to go to waste.”
Gregory said he would be reporting the theft to police.