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MARLBOROUGH SOUNDS' MARINE LIFE IMPROVING AFTER MUSSELS PROJECT

January 2022

An update from our PhD students on our mussel restoration project in the Marlborough Sounds. Read the Stuff piece here

INTRODUCING THE ŌKAHU BAY PROJECT!

November 2021

The last batch of 60 Tonnes of kūtai / green-lipped mussels has been dropped into the waters of Ōkahu Bay in a collaboration with Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei and the Revive Our Gulf project. See more from 1 News, RNZ and Newshub.

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PROMISING SIGNS FOR WILD MUSSEL RESTORATION PROJECT

July 2021

Our restoration project to bring wild mussels back to the Marlborough Sounds is showing promising signs after the first year of experimentation.

NEW ZEALAND REVIVED ITS MUSSEL BEDS – AND NOW OTHERS HOPE TO DO THE SAME

March 2021

Searching for a way to rejuvenate depleted mussel beds, scientists at the University of Auckland and local communities hit upon a radical solution – dropping empty shells onto the beds to create reef-like structures that living mussels could then bind to.

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HOW TO GET MUSSELS INTO BED – AND CLEAN UP THE HARBOUR

January 2021

Tonnes of mussels have been tossed overboard from barges into the Mahurangi Harbour in recent years. Mussels are renowned for their ability to feed on water impurities, and it's hoped that by re-establishing mussel beds, a badly polluted Hauraki Gulf can be cleaned up and marine life dramatically improved. But getting new beds to take hold presents challenges. Al Alder, a student at the Leigh Marine Laboratory, has been working on the problem …

MUSSELS TO BE POURED ON MUSSEL SHELL REEF TO REVIVE 'DEVASTATED' POPULATION

September 2020

A boatload of mussel shells have been sunk off Marlborough’s shores as part of Emilee's project to create a reef that will help revive marine life and a multimillion-dollar industry.

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MORE MARINE SPECIES THANKS TO THE MUSCLE OF THE MUSSEL

August 2020

A blog post from the Department of Conservation on how our research is showing that fish and invertebrate species in the restored mussel reefs are on the rise.

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GET TO KNOW OUR NEW STUDENT, SEB!

May 2020

Seb joined us from the UK just before lockdown so has had an unusual start to his PhD!

WE CAN’T HALT OCEAN DECLINE AS INDIVIDUALS

May 2020

Potentially calamitous declines in ocean species continue a downward spiral for our oceans. Individual action is important, but we won't succeed without government policy.

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SEE THE ANIMALS WE'RE FINDING ON THE RESTORED BEDS

April 2020

We've been leaving cameras on the restored beds in the Hauraki Gulf and the Marlborough Sounds, with some exciting results! This helps us quantify how the beds are increasing the biodiversity in the area. Thank you to our fantastic team of citizen scientists around the world who are helping us identify them all!

USING THE BOXFISH ROV TO MODEL MUSSEL BEDS

April 2020

Emilee has been using the Boxfish ROV to make 3D models of her restored mussel patches to investigate how the mussels organise themselves over time, and the many other animals she's finding on them.

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UPDATE FROM THE MARLBOROUGH SOUNDS MUSSEL RESTORATION PROJECT

April 2020

From the data collected in February we estimated that our transplanted mussels had consistently very high initial survival, regardless of the site they were deployed in.

NGĀTI MANUHIRI EXCITED BY EFFORTS TO RESTORE HEALTH OF MOANA

February 2020

To celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park and the first day of Seaweek 2020, Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage visited Mahurangi Harbour to witness for herself the fruits of the shellfish restoration programme.

Photo: Minister's office

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MAKING A COMEBACK: THE PROJECT TO SEE MORE MARLBOROUGH MUSSELS IN THE WILD

January 2020

Our first deployment of mussels into the Marlborough Sounds, lead by our PhD student Emilee!

MUSSEL POWER: BRINGING BACK THE HAURAKI GULF ONE BIVALVE AT A TIME

November 2019

An article by our partners The Nature Conservancy on our work in the Hauraki Gulf.

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