Oyster leases in waterways along the coast have been damaged during the deluge.

"At one point we were having one metre of water running through oyster sheds which is obviously not good for forklifts, grading machines or electronics.  

 "It is pretty devastating obviously.

"There is oyster gear everywhere, there is mature stock that is just lost and this is coming after a very difficult Christmas period when lot of the oyster farming harvest areas were closed due to rain."

'One thing after another'

James Ford is a second-generation oyster farmer on the Nambucca River on the NSW mid-north coast.

He said the flood was the worst he had ever seen, and came after an already bleak period for the local industry.

"We've only had, since the start of December, 19 appropriate selling opportunities where we've been in an open period to sell oysters and it will be another four to six weeks before the river cleans up," Mr Ford said.

"When the first lot of rain came through after the fires we lost 90 per cent of our market crop with black-water events.

"It seems to be one thing after another at the moment.

"Oyster farmers can't get any insurance on their crop no matter what they want to pay out on the water, or their boats."  

Hay bales on the loose

On the state's far south coast, oyster leases were damaged when dozens of hay bales were washed down the Pambula River.

Rebecca Hamilton, from Sapphire Coast Wilderness Oysters, said the floodwaters hit just as local operators were due to reopen after a 21-day closure due to a sewage spill. 

"It's really affected our leaseholders here, a lot of our farmers have actually lost all of their stock," she said.

"It's really disheartening … Easter is our prime time for selling, so this was where they were really trying to gear up to try to salvage some of their losses over the last 18 months." 

Big cleanup

Operators on the mid-north coast have also been hit hard.

The Big Oyster retail outlet and cafe on the Hastings River at Port Macquarie was slammed by floodwaters over the weekend.

"I've never seen anything like this in my whole entire life," business owner Lynette Atkins said.

"It was National Prawn Day the other day and not one seafood shop in Port Macquarie could be open, it was heartbreaking.

"There might not be an oyster for months and months now.

"We're hard workers, we've worked hard all our lives so this is not going to stop us and we'll just keep going."

Instead, Mid North Coast growers are just trying to keep their head above water with the floods setting the industry back up to four years.

Story By | Bruce MacKenzie, Sofie Wainwright, Lisa Markham & Claudia Jambor

Video By | Mia Tyquin