During a visit to Mitimiti earlier this year the students noticed the kutai beds were being smothered by pyura. After talking with community leaders they came up with the idea of running a competition they called Save the Kutai, Kill the Pyura.
Last week more than 60 people descended on the beach, making the most of a brief window of glorious weather, and removed a staggering 458kg of pyura - almost half a tonne - from the mussel beds.
Prizes worth almost $1000 were handed out thanks to support from Matihetihe Marae, Far North District Council, Papa Taiao and local families.
Whanau competed to collect the greatest weight in pyura while children collected prizes for the biggest specimens (the winner measured 70mm across). One student, Mary Baxter, single-handedly gathered a hefty 78kg.
Aaron McCloy, moana restoration programme facilitator, said problem-solving and taking responsibility were at the heart of all Papa Taiao courses.
"The great thing about this project is that the students and the local community have identified an issue, banded together, then taken action to solve it."
Mina Pomare-Peita, tumuaki (principal) of Te Kura Taumata o Panguru, said in the past pyura was known as titikura and eaten by locals.
"As the years have gone past and people have left the community the pyura has become a pest because fewer people are eating it. I was shown how to cook it and it tastes good but it's out-competing our kutai and killing our kutai beds. Like our tupuna, when something threatens our food source we have to fight to protect it. This is modern kaitiakitanga," she said.
Allen Karena, the competition's student leader, was grateful to everyone who took part in the competition.
"Kutai is a taonga. We all love kai moana and we don't want to lose it," he said.
Mr McCloy said a rise in sea temperatures of 0.2C could also be a factor the spread of pyura because the sea squirt favoured warmer waters.
