The sand-choked river, once a clear natural tea colour, usually welcomes several luxury boats during the peak holiday season.

However this year it is close to empty, as larger boats avoid the risk of scraping the bottom.

The effects on Tea Gardens' economy could worsen if the river mouth continued to shoal and prevent ferry services between Tea Gardens and Port Stephens, Waterways Chamber of Commerce and Tourism spokesperson Rick Wraight said.

“The regular ferry services are scraping bottom at certain low tides,” Mr Wraight said.

“If it gets any shallower it will affect those services. We’re talking about upwards of 100,000 passengers visiting Tea Gardens a year, whatever they spend here and what they spend when they return for a holiday.”

Mr Wraight said the flow-on effect could be detrimental to the tourism industry.

“The tragedy is bad news travels fast. Once the river is branded unsuitable for boats, it will take a long time for people to come back,” he said.

Wallamba Ferry Service operator Ray Horsfield said the Myall’s eastern channel was impassable and the western channel was heading for the same fate.

“It has come to the point where at low tide it is hard for two vessels to pass at the same time, one virtually has to wait for the other to pass, while normally you should be able to drive straight through,” Mr Horsfield said.

There have been reports of boats ‘drifting’ through part of the river to avoid hitting the bottom.

“Game fishermen are reluctant to come over, which means money they could be spending at local businesses is being lost,” Mr Horsfield said.

This is just the latest casualty to the neglect of the river, after oyster farmers watched their crops become buried in the sand.

Despite the State Government pledging $280,000 on dredging the Myall’s western channel in May, a figure matched by Great Lakes Council in July last year, the project remains on hold.