On Monday, April 8, in Ōkahu Bay Auckland, we held the second Revive Our Gulf Summit, bringing together iwi, researchers, government, funders, and foundation partners all committed to restoring the lost kūtai (green-lipped mussel) reefs of the Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana / Te Moananui ā Toi.
Why we are reseeding kūtai
Bringing kūtai back is key to improving the mauri / life-force of the Gulf. We know that kūtai help stabilise the seafloor, reducing wave energy and the re-suspension of sediment. They also remove harmful forms of nitrogen and can lock away carbon, but these essential marine species are in sharp decline. The summit provided an opportunity to collaborate, address barriers, and find solutions to protect and restore what has been lost.
In addition to their significance for biodiversity, kūtai are also a taonga species to many iwi and communities that surround the Gulf. A fundamental part of the summit was iwi leading the conversation, sharing learnings and mātauranga both past and ever-evolving.
Kīngi Makoare of Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei welcomed attendees with a mihi whakatau and opened the discussion by sharing the cultural and historical importance of the whenua and moana where the summit was taking place.
“Tāmaki, kainga ngā ika me ngā whenua katoa. We know from our kaumatua that 50 years ago Tāmaki Moana was bountiful and so healthy you could eat fish… bones and all, but that is no longer possible”. Restoring kūtai is only one aspect of the mahi taking place, it is also about enabling kaitiaki / guardians to uphold their mana and connect to each other.
Experiences were shared by the Ngāti Manuhiri Settlement Trust, Te Au ō Moana kaimahi with hugely positive sentiment around the social and wellbeing outcomes their restoration project has had on individuals and the community. Kawa MacDonald has been a commercial skipper for the iwi for the last year and he described an immense sense of mana. “When you pull up to the jetty and people ask, what’s your boat about, I feel so much pride, you can’t kaitiaki from behind a desk, you’ve got to get out there and do the mahi”.
The latest evidence
Evidence-based research is crucial for the project and the results from the past 19 months were reported on by University of Auckland (UoA) Institute of Marine Science Lecturer Dr. Jenny Hillman, sharing findings from within the Hauraki Gulf and from restoration activities at the Top of the South Island.
Jenny was accompanied by UoA PhD candidates Kathy Burnham and Brandy Biggar who spoke to their individual research projects, including how kūtai of different age classes prefer different settlement surfaces during various aspects of the kūtai lifecycle, and how sediment levels affect juvenile kūtai health.
Leaders from Pou Rāhui Pou Tikanga Pou Oranga kaupapa, Herearoha Skipper and Kura Paul-Burke, presented on the importance of investing in rangatahi; in sharing established knowledge around water safety and tohu moana – indicators to make observations over time.
Discussions about the restoration of the Hauraki Gulf at scale established that it will rely greatly on building a pipeline of future kaimahi. Attendees discussed how to do this, including the critical importance of fostering a passion for the marine environment, showing youth that career pathways in this space exist and can span across everything from hands-on mahi to policy and government.
The Summit allowed for stronger connections to be made between all who attended, building a stronger foundation of support and knowledge to ensure the success of the Revive Our Gulf kaupapa going forward.
Photos by Ben Sarten