by Gerry Warren

Whitstable's native oyster is doomed, according to a major wholesaler.

Graham West, of West Whelks - the biggest harbour-based wholesaler of oysters - fears the worldwide demand for rock oysters will outstrip supply.

Mr West raised his concerns at a recent meeting of the Harbour Users Forum.

He fears the planned expansion of a wind farm onto supposedly protected native oyster beds could eventually wipe them and the fishing industry out.

And he is worried the Thames estuary will one day become a no-go area for fishermen as more wind turbines are erected.

This year visitors consumed around 25,000 oysters at the various restaurants and outlets in the town.

But Mr West said: "There is a real problem looming, and right now I couldn't guarantee we could meet demand for oysters at next year's festival.

"The fact is that the native oyster can only be harvested between September and April.

"There are insufficient local rock oysters to meet demand and many of them are too big for commercial sale. I had to email 43 companies around Europe and most could only offer me a few hundred. Luckily, in the end I managed to get around 6,000 from Ireland."

Mr West said demand had rocketed because of the BP oil spillage off the coast of Louisiana had destroyed its supplies and the French were suffering from diseased beds.

He said: "They are buying up every bit of ground and all the supplies and it is not going to get any better.

"In future the price of them could go through the roof because supply is dropping rapidly.

"Whitstable's heritage and tourism industry relies on the oyster, but we are in danger of killing the golden goose."

The issue was also raised at a Harbour Board meeting at which member Cllr Michael Dixey said: "I understand there are serious concerns about future oyster stocks and we may need to call in outside expertise because the situation is quite urgent. Whitstable simply would not be Whitstable without oysters."