Seven million mussels to be released into Hauraki Gulf

Over time, the bay was dredged of green-lipped mussels until very few remained.
photo: NIWA/Rebekah Parsons-King

The government plans to release seven million green-lipped mussels (kūtai) into the Hauraki Gulf in an effort to reverse decades of decline in the mussel population and mitigate the impacts of destructive fishing practices and climate change.

This is the second time the Ngatimānuhiri Settlement Trust has stocked the bay with mussels, the first being two years ago.

Nicola MacDonald, CEO of Ngāti Manuhiri Settlement Trust said: Morning Report Transporting these mussels requires a huge effort from many stakeholders across the Bay.

“We have had barges arrive and farms in the beautiful Coromandel have generously provided kutai (mussels) to help us in our research at the northern end of the bay on how to restore this beautiful ocean we all enjoy.”

MacDonald said green-lipped mussels were plentiful in the Hauraki Gulf in the 1940s and 1950s, but over time they were overfished and now there are very few left.

“What we have to do now, and what we do know, is sedimentation, climate change, all of these things are clogging up the bay. We have to put green-lipped mussels back into the bay, filter the water, and then we’ll see a good recovery of the fishery.”

MacDonald described green-lipped mussels as the “workhorses” of marine ecosystems because they filter water and build seafloor structure.

“We want the bay to be a carpet of green lips again. The last time we did a translocation was two years ago. It was the largest shellfish bed restoration project in the world, with 150 tonnes of mussels translocated.”

This time, more than 100 tons of mussels will be transported and released into the bay.

MacDonald said we must continue to work to ensure the bay’s green-lipped mussels can thrive again.

The mussels will be placed on July 29.