Since our first kūtai deployment in the Hauraki Gulf in 2013, our work has grown into a coordinated programme of restoration, experimentation, and research.
Deploying kūtai is one part of a broader effort to understand the conditions needed for reefs to survive and develop over time. This includes targeted research led by the University of Auckland on spat settlement and recruitment, shell deposits, and artificial substrates, alongside work informed by mātauranga Māori and tangata whenua perspectives.
As this body of work grows, we are increasingly focused on drawing insights across multiple experiments and sites, rather than viewing projects in isolation. This helps us better understand what supports success, where uncertainties remain, and how we might rebuild functioning reef systems that sustain kūtai and other shellfish.
The Hauraki Gulf was once carpeted with billions of mussels, filtering the entire volume of water in the Firth of Thames in a single day.
Bringing back these mussel reefs is key to improving the mauri, or life-force, of the Gulf.
In partnership with Tangata Whenua, we undertake active restoration across Tīkapa Moana / Te Moananui-ā-Toi / the Hauraki Gulf.
You can learn more about specific restoration projects on our partner pages below.
We work closely with our science partner, the University of Auckland, on research that explores how best kūtai reefs can be restored in the Hauraki Gulf. You can read the latest research updates below, or find out more about our research partnership here.
