Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Awa has placed a rāhui on the mussel beds along Ōhope Spit. No green lipped mussels (kūtai, kuku) can be taken from the area east of the boat ramp. This will assist the kūtai restoration project led by the Ōhiwa Harbour Implementation Forum which has already shown great success.
New mussel beds have formed that produce lots and lots of kuku. The majority of these are juveniles (baby and teenage sized). They require protection from human harvesting to be able to grow to adults, reproduce and help stabilise the new bed.
