Matariki mission: laying mussels to revive the Hauraki Gulf

Aotearoa is leading the world in efforts to restore mussel beds, says Dr Jenny Hillman, of the University’s Institute of Marine Science.

Work began over Matariki to lay down 150 tonnes of kūtai (green-lipped mussels) at two sites north of Auckland in the Kawau area of the Hauraki Gulf.

Local iwi Ngāti Manuhiri is leading the project, working with Revive Our Gulf, a collaboration between the University of Auckland, The Nature Conservancy, and the Mussel Reef Restoration Trust.

The quantity of mussels to be laid down at the two sites makes it the biggest mussel restoration effort worldwide in terms of tonnes of adult mussels deployed, according to Dr Hillman.

The project began with a scattering of mussels on 24 June, the first public holiday to celebrate Matariki.