Collecting mussel spat from Te Oneroa‑a‑Tōhē Ninety Mile Beach. Photo / Rongo Bentson
Far North iwi have applied through the fast-tracking process to start a large-scale mussel farming venture that could annually earn four iwi $1.2 million profit each.
The application writer Te Aupōuri Fisheries Management (TAFM) general manager Penetaui Kleskovich said the Muriwhenua Aquaculture proposal would not only see local iwi prosper but radically improve the future of New Zealand mussel farming.
The operation will predominantly raise commercial crops of green-lipped mussels. It also proposes wild spat nursery activities - wild spat would be taken directly from the sea, transported to nursery farm sites, and raised to a stage where it is more likely to survive further transportation to grow out farms elsewhere in New Zealand.
More than 90% of the wild spat underpinning the country’s $400m plus green-lipped mussel industry is harvested from wind-driven deposits of seaweed along Te Oneroa‑a‑Tōhē Ninety Mile Beach.
However, at that embryonic stage, the spat has a low survival rate when transported long distances. The collective’s aim is to farm it to a more developed stage (4-5cms), improving its chances of survival.
Kleskovic said this means there is a vital business opportunity to secure a long‑term, iwi‑led presence across the mussel value chain, built around this unique local taonga.
Led by TAFM – which has operated a mussel farm at Houhora since water space there was brought back into direct iwi management in 2023 – the project brings together four of five Muriwhenua iwi: Te Aupōuri, Te Rarawa, Ngāi Takoto and Ngāti Kahu, with the door still open for iwi Ngāti Kuri to join later, Kleskovic said.
The venture would see Muriwhenua iwi enjoy a position of scale, control, and long-term economic certainty, he said.
And it could help boost the industry nationally to a billion-dollar contributor to gross domestic product.
Lodged in 2024, the project was recognised as having significant regional or national benefits, therefore qualifying to skip the initial referral stage and allowed to proceed directly to a substantive application.
At that stage, the application sought approval for nearly 25,000ha of water space across nine sites in Northland – a scale significantly larger than the country’s entire existing aquaculture footprint of 14,000ha.
A preliminary assessment found the application lacked sufficient information for immediate referral to the most accelerated fast-track pathway.
However, it could still proceed under a pathway designed for complex or large‑scale projects requiring further clarification.
Issues identified for further work related to:
The application was noted as lacking evidence of engagement with customary marine title applicants. Also, much of the originally identified area overlaid aquaculture‑prohibited zones under the Northland Regional Coastal Plan, meaning development would require either fast‑track approval or plan changes.
Kleskovic said the proposal had since been scaled back to about 6% – about 1672ha (16.72sq km) – and now focused on just four sites:
The Houhora and Te Kowhai Bay sites would sit within 3km of the shoreline, making them suitable for spat nurseries; while the two Raungaunu Bay sites would be more than 3km offshore, suited to commercial mussel “grow out”.
At that reduced scale, the collective aims to have 100 lines in the water, producing a total of between 1500 and 2000 tonnes of mussel spat (seed) each year, either for sale into the wider industry or for grow-out locally, Kleskovic said.
His financial modelling forecast profits of up to $1.2m annually for each iwi or of up to $1m each if Ngāti Kuri later joined.
Kleskovic said the most significant reduction in the new proposal was the removal of 20,000ha initially sought off Ninety Mile Beach.
That space was initially sought to ensure secure access to spat, but Kleskovic said the collective’s needs could be met through a separate regulatory process with the Ministry for Primary Industries.
Kleskovic said the idea was once regarded as tapu (forbidden), but there was now broad agreement among the participating Muriwhenua iwi to explore it. Te Puni Kokiri (TPK) is currently circulating a consultation document.
There was likely to be significant opposition from other quota holders, he said.
“This is a big shift from how things have always been done,” he said.
However, the collective’s confidence in the venture proceeding was reflected in its decision to spend $1.2m on its fast-track application, bolstered by the Government’s early indication of financial backing, Kleskovic said.
“We’ve already had an agreement in principle from the Regional Development Fund for a loan of $4.2 million, and our contribution to that loan is going to be our water space.
“So we’re just going through a procedural process, just working back from there. It’s just an exercise,” he said.
Site work could begin as early as September, with development of the requested water spaces likely to take about two years, Kleskovic said.
He acknowledged ongoing tensions between iwi and non-iwi quota holders over spat access, who feared they would lose access via Te Aupōuri Treaty settlement land.
While there were no immediate plans to restrict access, future decisions would rest with iwi governance, he said.
He noted spat worth up to $8m was taken from the beach each year, reliant on the use of the Te Aupouri settlement land accesses – “a privilege not a right”.
Kleskovic also addressed perceived conflict‑of‑interest concerns, saying fast‑track decisions on the application were being handled by Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka, not Kleskovic’s father, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones.
Peter Lucas-Jones, chair of Te Runanga o Te Aupōuri (and Shane Jones’ younger brother), said the venture was an exciting, forward-looking opportunity combining environmental responsibility with iwi leadership, and potential job and prosperity in the next two to five years.
Kleskovic said it was not a foregone conclusion that extra jobs would be created in the Far North from the development. That depended on what the collective company’s board decided to do with the mussels.
Lucas-Jones also spoke about health and safety concerns raised by outside collectors using iwi-owned access routes and damage caused by their often heavy vehicles.
Ngāti Kahu chief executive Dee-ann Wolferstan also hoped to see employment opportunities, particularly given the uncertainty around Juken New Zealand’s (JNL) two Kaitāia timber processing plants.
She applauded Te Aupōuri’s Houhora Bay work, which had effectively served as an important feasibility study, creating the foundation for other iwi to engage.
Ngāti Kuri was approached for comment.
Sarah Curtis is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on a wide range of issues. She has nearly 20 years’ experience in journalism, most of which she spent court reporting in Gisborne and on the East Coast.