A SEWAGE spill at Pitt Water has caused thousands of oysters to be pulled from shops and restaurants across Australia.
Southern Water yesterday came under fire for not reporting the leak, which it admitted had been detected as much as three weeks earlier.
A statement issued by the utility said the spill, in the state's South East, had earlier this month been mistaken for a freshwater leak.
The leak at Midway Point was repaired on Wednesday.
Tasmanian Shellfish Quality Assurance Program manager Alison Turnbull said the Sorell Council had alerted her to the leak on Wednesday.
Ms Turnbull said it would not be known if the spill had infiltrated oysters from six farms in the Pitt Water area until testing for viruses such as hepatitis A had been completed, in about a week.
She said the spill's volume had been low and early test results for bacteria in the water around the farms were encouraging, but the industry could not afford to take any chances.
A voluntary withdrawal of oysters harvested from the area continued yesterday.
Tasmanian Shellfish Executive Council chairman Jon Poke said it would be next week before farmers could count the numbers of oysters lost.
Farms that produce about 15 per cent of the state's oysters are expected to be out of action for at least two weeks.
Mr Poke said the closure ahead of Easter, the industry's second busiest week of the year, would be costly.
About 50,000 dozen Tasmanian oysters have been harvested in preparation for Easter.
Mr Poke said any oyster that was on the market would be safe to eat.
Director of Public Health Roscoe Taylor said the farm closures were a precaution. The farms were about 3km from the spill, Mr Taylor said.
He said the Health Department had not received any reports of illness caused by the oysters.
"I congratulate the shellfish industry for acting responsibly in withdrawing its product while a full assessment is made," he said.
Southern Water in a statement said the utility was investigating the incident in which a "low volume of sewage infiltrated the stormwater system in Midway Point".
A damaged sewer main had been identified and fixed on Wednesday.
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