Our Leases
Where we grow only the best oysters
Our oyster leases are situated between 3 to 7 km from the Jetty at Smoky Bay. We access the leases at low tide by barge, when we wade through the waters tending to the oysters. SA Premium Oysters have built South Australia’s only oyster lease viewing and dining platform that overlooks the oyster farm in the middle of Smoky Bay. This unique structure enables an exceptional experience for visitors to the lease with stunning views over the pristine waters of Smoky Bay and a stable platform on which to enjoy tasting premium oysters fresh from the waters, a picnic luncheon or a special event of your own making.
Smoky Bay History
Smoky Bay has the perfect conditions for premium oyster farming, consisting of large tidal flats and a deep channel that supplies the bay with cold nutrient filled water straight from the continental shelf.
In 1988 Smoky Bay’s first oyster leases were granted, comprising a total of 76 hectares. By 1998 a total of 187 hectares was being farmed by 24 growers.
In 1998 the District Council of Ceduna, in conjunction with the oyster growers, developed an area exclusively for the oyster industry consisting of 46 quarter acre blocks for oyster sorting sheds naming the subdivision Aquaculture Park.
There are now approximately 19 oyster farming companies operating from Aquaculture Park supplying over 50% of the states oyster sales. SA Premium Oysters became a part of the South Australian oyster industry nearly 35 years ago when Jeff and Colleen Holmes made the transition from farming wheat on the land to farming shellfish in the bay.
After three decades of analysing, testing, tweaking and sampling in an effort to produce the best possible quality oyster, Jeff and Colleen are now confident that their oysters will tempt even the fussiest of connoisseurs.
Smoky Bay
on Australia’s Seafood Frontier
The coastline of South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula is known as the Seafood Frontier for good reason; the waters of the Great Australian Bight and the Southern Ocean nurture a magnificent array of some of the world’s finest seafood.
Smoky Bay is ideally situated on this part of the South Australian coastline that stretches from Whyalla down to Port Lincoln and back up to the Head of Bight via Streaky Bay and Ceduna, this region offers not only sensational seafood but also spectacular scenery and an insight into the history of this remote and rugged landscape.