Staged approach to Opotiki mussel farming

The mussels are very clear with a good flavour. Photo / File

The owners of the offshore mussel farm development in Opotiki have adopted a carefully staged approach to commercialisation, says Dickie Farrar, chief executive of the Whakatohea Maori Trust Board.

"But it has huge potential for the whole region," she said.

The board owns 54 per cent of Eastern Sea Farms, with a group of local investors, Whakatohea Aquaculture (Opotiki), holding the balance. Eastern Sea Farms is effectively the landlord of the 3800ha consent, 80 per cent of which has been leased to trust-controlled development company Whakatohea Opotiki Aquaculture, to ensure the development and landlord roles are kept distinct.

Eastern Sea Farms was the only offshore mussel farm in New Zealand and had the potential to be the country's largest, said Ms Farrar.

Development has involved years of research, mostly with the assistance of Cawthron Institute in Nelson, but also with the University of Waikato's Coastal Research Station in Tauranga also taking part.

In 2010, Eastern Sea Farms had just three research lines in the water. There are now a total of 42 lines down, with 10 leased to Sanford Fisheries, two lines left to grow out to full mussel size and the balance committed to collecting the juvenile spat needed to see mussel production.

"You could say the farm is in small-scale commercial development," said Ms Farrar. "It has the potential to be the biggest mussel farm in New Zealand. The mussels are very clear, with exceptional colour and the taste is just unbelievable. But what we're focused on at the moment is ensuring we catch spat."

The New Zealand industry has been hit in recent years by a shortage of spat in Ninety Mile Beach in the Far North, where it has traditionally been harvested.

"We've now had about three years' research around spat times, water quality and temperature, so we do know a lot about the site where we've had our lines," said Ms Farrar. "But there's still a lot more to learn, which is why we've increased the number of lines in the water."

Professor Chris Battershill, who heads the Tauranga Coastal Research Station, said students would be working with Eastern Sea Farms over the summer break.