Revive Our Gulf is proud to partner with Ngāti Manuhiri Settlement Trust, who are working to leave behind a sustainable footprint and safeguard the environment for future generations.
In the northern reaches of the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park lies the Waihē (Mahurangi Harbour), opening to a cluster of small islands flowing north to Te Kawau Tumaro-o-Toi (Kawau Island) and then Mangatawhiri (Omaha), Whānga-ō-Maha (Leigh) and around the point to Ngā One Haea (Pākiri beach). The area has a special significance for marine conservation as it is home to Aotearoa New Zealand’s first-ever marine reserve.
Stretching from Ōkakari Point to Whakatūwhenua (Cape Rodney), the marine reserve at Te Hāwere-a-Maki (Goat Island) was established in 1975. It is also home to the University of Auckland’s Leigh Marine Laboratory – the home of shellfish research.
Ngāti Manuhiri Settlement Trust, mana whenua and mandated iwi authority, have a long-standing collaborative relationship with the University and are actively involved in several projects that seek to improve the state of the marine environment. This includes the Mahurangi East Land Restoration (MELR) project aimed at reducing sedimentation, and the Sustainable Seas Kohunga Kūtai project which looks at applying mātauranga (customary knowledge) in natural woven fibres as a sustainable alternative to using plastic spat ropes in marine farming.
Ngāti Manuhiri Settlement Trust and Revive Our Gulf celebrated Aotearoa New Zealand’s first-ever Matariki public holiday in 2022 by launching Te Au o Morunga: the Whakatō Kūtai project, that aims to restore the mauri of Te Moananui-ā-Toi through re-establishing kūtai / mussel beds in the hapū rohe moana.
Te Au o Morunga refers to the thin shimmer you see out on the horizon on a calm day out on the moana. The project name is metaphoric – indicating progress towards a brighter future for Te Moanui-ā-Toi and for ngā uri o Ngāti Manuhiri. The Whakatō Kūtai project looks to create a ‘joined up’ series of kūtai beds across islands and bays that will help us understand mussel survival, recruitment and predation under different conditions.
These new beds become part of an extended network of restoration sites across the area, and our teams continue to monitor the sites together.
The latest deployment, conducted in partnership with the Ngāti Manuhiri Settlement Trust, is a testament to the collaborative spirit driving this project. This is the second such deployment, building on the substantial kūtai reefs created in 2022 near Moturekareka and Motuketekete Islands. These initial efforts have provided valuable insights, with kūtai at Moturekareka showing promising growth, while those at Motuketekete faced challenges due to sedimentation and deployment methods.
100 tonnes of adult kūtai (approximately 7 million kūtai) were sourced from a Coromandel Mussel Farm and placed in Motuora and Martins Bay. Guided by Ngāti Manuhiri’s extensive knowledge of their rohe and detailed ecological surveys, the project will examine conditions for kūtai survival and growth. Additionally, the maramataka (Māori lunar calendar) was used to select optimal deployment times.
The kūtai will be closely monitored over a three year period to assess their survival and impact on the ecosystem. This period will provide answers to critical questions, and inevitably raise new ones, driving further research and refinement of restoration techniques.
