Spat harvesting in the Far North. Photo / Supplied
Seaweed gathered on Ninety Mile Beach (Te-Oneroa-a-Tōhē) holds a special bounty for the mussel spat harvesters of the Far North.
They hope the strands of seaweed are coated with the tiny larvae of New Zealand's famed green-lipped mussels.
The spat harvested in the Far North comprises most of the wild-caught spat supply in New Zealand.
The seaweed is put into 10kg plastic bags and transported carefully to the wharves near mussel farms throughout New Zealand to be grown into the seafood delicacy.
Spat harvester Zarn Reichardt, of Reichardt Marine, owns one of six companies in the Far North.
"I grew up with it, learning about it from my father. Back then it was all hand scoops. After travelling overseas I started my own business and became more fulltime over the past eight years,'' he said.
Spat harvesting is a family affair. His wife, Michelle, also has a background in the industry as her mother, Diane Wedding, has been doing mussel spat for more than 40 years.
Reichardt said the harvesting season runs from July to November and operators have to contend with significant challenges of weather and tides and competing companies.
Reichardt has five trucks, four loaders and 15 trailers. The off season is spent repairing and maintaining the gear as driving the machinery on wet sand and salt water "is pretty hard on it".
"Conditions change all the time. Basically I have about two hours after high tide and I'm driving a loader with a wetsuit.
"Spat is like the fruit of the ocean.''
The spat harvesting companies operate under a quota system and have to use GPS trackers for monitoring "so fisheries inspectors know where we are operating at all times".
Some parts of the beach are banned from machine operators and spat can only be harvested by hand.
"We work in consultation with local iwi and the Ministry for Primary Industries. There are a lot of consultations involved,'' he said.
The total annual catch for the area is about 125 tonnes.
Most green-lipped mussels in New Zealand are farmed in the same way, using a method adapted from a Japanese technique for growing oysters.
Once the spat has been delivered to the mussel farm, the juvenile mussels are transferred to nursery ropes and grown on the ropes in seawater until about six months of age. They are removed and reseeded on to longlines, which can be several kilometres long and are suspended between buoys.
Mussels are grown for a further year before they are harvested by mussel barges.
Aquaculture New Zealand chief executive Gary Hooper said New Zealand could be very proud of the resource and management of the green-lipped mussel.
"I have a huge regard for the four Te Oneroa a Tohe iwi, Ngāti Kurī, Ngāi Takoto, Te Rarawa and Te Aupōuri.
"I was in Northland recently for the launch of the Te Oneroa-a-Tōhe / Ninety Mile Beach Management Plan, which has been set up with representatives of the four iwi and the Far North District Council and Northland Regional Council."
Hooper said the mussel industry is in its infancy compared with land-based farming and there were many exciting possibilities.
"The mussel industry has been deeply affected by Covid-19 because with all the lockdowns overseas the food industry has been struggling with fewer people are going to restaurants, hotels or cruise ships.
"However, the nutraceutical side of the industry hasn't missed a beat.
"Wellness is a significant trend and nutraceutical products made from mussel oil and powder have huge potential,'' he said.
Hooper said he liked to highlight that green-lipped mussels are New Zealand's only native farmed protein.
"It's a nutritional powerhouse and has unique properties that are known to support joint health.
"There is massive potential for the industry in New Zealand, with the right branding and love wrapped around products,'' he said.
Spat from seaweed washed up on a beach in the Far North could end up in Asia or the US, which is the industry's largest export market, he said.
"Its health properties are probably better known in Asia than they are in New Zealand. We are so lucky that we can go to the supermarket and pick up the best and healthiest protein around.
"The closer to nature the better. Just lightly steamed. You can't get better than that,'' he said.