April 20, 2023
Mussel spat in Tikapa Moana clean up plan
Efforts have started to bring mussels back to the Waitematā Harbour and the Hauraki Gulf Tikapa Moana.
Revive Our Gulf, a collaboration between iwi and conservation organisations, is trying to redress the damage done last century when dredging destroyed the area’s extensive mussel beds.
Despite all the mussel farms dotted around the gulf, the kūtai haven’t come back naturally on their own.
Revive Our Gulf has teamed up with Kelly Tarlton’s Marine Wildlife Trust and the Institute of Marine Science at the University of Auckland to study the relationship between mussel spat and seaweed.
They hope find if there’s a particular type of seaweed that might entice the spat to start a community on the ocean floor.
Mussels clean the seawater and provide structure and protection for fish species like snapper.