$30K worth of oysters stolen in eastern P.E.I.

RCMP are looking into a theft of oysters in Murray Harbour North, fished off a private lease, on Saturday night.

The owner of the lease estimates about 100,000 oysters were taken, with avalue of about$30,000.

The theft was reported on Sunday, and RCMP are asking for help with the investigation.

"We're hoping that people either did see either people on the water or a boat being hauled behind a truck," Sgt. Chris Gunn said.

The theft represented a large proportion of the oysters the owner had on the lease, Gunn said.

The shellfish cannot survive out of the water for long, so RCMPsuspect they have either already been sold or have been put back in the water somewhere else for later harvesting. Oyster season is open, so there are a lot of oysters currently on the market.

Anyone with information about the theft is asked to contact Montague RCMP or Crime Stoppers.

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