Over time the gulf was dredged of green lipped mussels to the point none were left. Photo: NIWA/Rebekah Parsons-King
Seven million green lipped mussels (kūtai) are to be put into the Hauraki Gulf in an effort to reverse a decades long decline in numbers as well as mitigate the impact of destructive fishing practices and climate change.
It is the second time that Ngāti Manuhiri Settlement Trust have worked to deploy mussels into the gulf, with the first taking place two years ago.
Ngāti Manuhiri Settlement Trust chief executive Nicola MacDonald told Morning Report it took a huge effort involving many stakeholders from around the gulf to transport the mussels.
"We've got barges coming in, we've had farms in the beautiful Coromandel give so generously of kūtai, of mussels, to help us up here in the northern end of the gulf look at how we can restore this beautiful ocean space that we all enjoy."
MacDonald said that in the 1940s and 50s, the Hauraki Gulf had an abundance of green lipped mussels, but over time they were dredged to the point that there weren't any left.
"What we've got to do now, and what we do know, is with sedimentation, climate change, it's all choking the gulf up. We've got to get those green lipped mussels back out into the gulf, filtering the water so we can see a good return of fisheries."
MacDonald described green lipped mussels as the 'workhorse' of the ocean eco system due to the way that they filtrate water and build up the seafloor.
"We want to see the gulf as a green lipped carpet once again. The last transfer we did was two years ago. It was the world's largest shellfish bed restoration, of 150 tonnes of mussels."
This time around, just over 100 tonnes of mussels will be transported and then placed into the gulf.
There was a need to push on and keep going to ensure that green lipped mussels in the gulf can thrive once again, MacDonald said.
The mussels will be placed on 29 July.
