Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Awa is calling for continued protections over mussel harvesting in Ōhiwa Harbour as one of Aotearoa’s most successful marine restoration projects enters its next phase.
The harbour, traditionally known as Te Kete o Tairongo, has long been recognised as an important food basket for local iwi and coastal communities. After years of decline in mussel populations, a sustained restoration effort has seen shellfish numbers recover dramatically, offering renewed hope for the harbour’s ecological and cultural future.
Customary Fisheries Officer Charles Bluett says maintaining the current harvesting restrictions is critical to ensuring the recovering mussel beds continue to strengthen before any consideration is given to reopening customary or recreational harvesting.
The recovery has been driven by years of collaborative work involving Ngāti Awa, scientists, government agencies and local communities. Restoration efforts have focused on rebuilding mussel populations while protecting the wider harbour ecosystem that supports a diverse range of marine life.
Central to the project has been the application of kaitiakitanga, with Māori environmental knowledge guiding long-term decisions about how the harbour should be managed and restored. The approach has balanced mātauranga Māori alongside scientific monitoring to measure ecological recovery and adapt management practices over time.
The project is increasingly being recognised as an example of how Indigenous knowledge and Western science can work together to restore degraded ecosystems. The lessons learned in Ōhiwa Harbour are expected to inform similar restoration initiatives elsewhere in Aotearoa, particularly in areas where shellfish populations have suffered significant declines.
For Ngāti Awa, the restoration extends well beyond rebuilding mussel beds. The harbour represents an enduring source of kai, identity, whakapapa and cultural connection, with healthy marine ecosystems viewed as essential to sustaining future generations.
The iwi says protecting the gains already achieved will require patience and continued stewardship, ensuring the harbour remains resilient in the face of environmental pressures including climate change, sedimentation and increasing human activity.
As discussions continue around extending the existing protections, Ngāti Awa hopes Ōhiwa Harbour will stand as a lasting example of what can be achieved when communities, iwi and scientists work together to restore taonga species and protect the health of the moana.
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