The Tasmanian Shellfish Quality Assurance Program ensures that shellfish are only harvested from waters that are shown to be free of harmful contaminants.

The program relies on heavy regulatory measures for growing areas including continuous bacteriological and environmental monitoring programs, a biotoxin monitoring program, and chemical residue testing.

It is oversee by the Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and the Environment.

DPIPWE’s Tim Baker has been put in charge of fixing issues associated with the program, including bringing it into a modern age.

“Biosecurity Tasmania is an exemplary regulator but being a regulator is more than just enforcing the rules,” he said.

“TSQAP has been around since the 1980s and broadly hasn’t changed in terms of its approach since then and now is a great opportunity to look at how we can better provide the service.”

He said a management committee which oversaw TSQAP, which disbanded some time ago, needed to be reinstated to iron out communication issues between the department, the regulator, and the industry.

Mr Baker proposed that a new model might see a co-ordinator role inserted between regulator and industry with that appointment to be decided on between industry heads and the department.

The program’s budget has been steadily creeping up due to staff costs and increased sampling.

Oyster Tasmania’s Shellfish Futures two-day conference was held on Friday in Hobart.

Topics discussed on Friday included industry training for the future, information-technology available to shellfish growers, biosecurity practices, and how New Zealand is dealing with the deadly Pacific Oyster Mortality Syndrome.

A breakout of POMS on the East Coast last year cost individual farms millions of dollars with some leases losing 90 per cent of their stock.

Primary Industries Minister Jeremy Rockliff will give an address at the conference on Saturday while two visiting international scientists will inform delegates on future breeding techniques.