Tribe sees mussels as route to independence

By Martin Kay
Dominion Post14 July 2004

The irony is not entirely lost on the chairman of Hawke's Bay's Ngati Kahungunu iwi and the new vice-president of the recently-formed Maori Party.

Led by breakaway Labour MP Tariana Turia, who swept to victory in the Te Tai Hauauru by-election at the weekend, the party was born from Maori disaffection at Government legislation vesting ownership of the foreshore and seabed in the Crown.

That legislation followed a Court of Appeal victory by Marlborough iwi who claimed the spread of mussel farms in the district infringed their customary rights.

Now Mr Tomoana is driving the development of New Zealand's first open sea mussel farm, a venture that, once fully operational, will dwarf all others, covering 2800 hectares of seabed north of Napier and turning over $30 million a year.

"Do I think that's ironic?" he smiles. "Not really. I prefer to think of it as a happy coincidence."

In fact, the mussel farm project pre-dates the foreshore and seabed rumblings by several years. Its roots are much more in the economic upheaval that devastated Hawke's Bay in the 1980s and concern that pollution was killing off traditional shellfish beds.

Mr Tomoana was working at the Whakatu freezing works when they were shut in 1986, destroying 2000 jobs in an already fragile local economy. In the years since, the 50-year-old - in his seventh year at the helm of New Zealand's third-biggest tribe - has developed a keen awareness of the need for Maori economic independence.

"One of our focuses is that we have got to do it by example. This iwi doesn't actually seek any government money - to take government money makes us dependent and lazy.

"We say if we become independent of the Government, then that sets a significant example at hapu level and at family level that you've got to do it by yourselves.

"For us, it was good timing. We've considered for some years that most of our mussels in Hawke's Bay are inedible, they have been polluted by water sources, mainly runoff from rivers, so we were looking to ways of replenishing that food stock because it was a staple diet for us 30 years ago.

"Then a commercial opportunity arose because there was no room left in Marlborough or the Coromandel for aquaculture. We are probably the next smallest big bay, if you like."

The mussel farm, which builds on Ngati Kahungunu's already strong fisheries interests, is seen as a key investment in the tribe's future self-sufficiency.

It is an ambitious project involving a partnership between Ngati Kahungunu and Tasman Mussels (40 per cent each) and New Zealand Seafarms (20 per cent).

The farm will be seven kilometres off Waipatiki Beach, north of Napier, New Zealand's first open sea mussel farm.

Initial development is restricted by requirements to monitor environmental impacts and the need to test commercial viability, but once fully operational in 2019, it will have 928 lines anchored 15 metres below the surface and 15 metres above the ocean floor.

These will produce 15,000 tonnes of mussels each year, most of them bound for export to the United States and Asia.

The consortium will begin testing the site in September, when nine to 12 lines will be put in place. The trials of three different anchoring systems will allow early monitoring of how fast the mussels grow and any environmental impacts.

"It will be a huge economic driver," says Mr Tomoana. "From a $20 million investment once the farm is fully operational, $8 million of which is from Ngati Kahungunu, we'll be looking at a turnover of $30 million annually. Alongside that, we will be creating 250 to 350 jobs.

"We will become significant contributors to the regional and local economy. We are creating our own jobs, we are adding to the export industry and we are restoring a customary food supply, so it has a whole lot of outcomes for us."

The jobs generated from the project include 54 fulltime posts on the water around the farm, mainly engineering, scientific monitoring, harvesting and maintenance. Another 200-odd jobs will be in the yet-to-be-built factory processing the mussels, with downstream jobs expected in related industries, such as rope making, transport and additional engineering and scientific work.

Mr Tomoana would like most of the jobs to go to Ngati Kahungunu members, but the main priority is getting the best people for each post.

The tribe has invested considerable effort in training iwi members in the scientific and technical aspects of aquaculture, but accepts outside expertise may be needed.

Risks exist, however, not least the fact the iwi is literally entering uncharted waters.

Because New Zealand does not have any open sea mussel farms, it is not known how well the shellfish will grow so far offshore, though it is expected the yield per hectare will be about a quarter of inshore farms. The mussels may also be eaten by snapper and other fish before they have a chance to mature.

Then there's the toxic algal blooms that have hit Hawke's Bay and other coastal areas in recent years.

But Mr Tomoana says all of these factors can be managed.

"At the most, this area is closed maybe six weeks a year due to algal bloom, and we think that's doable, that's still achievable, and that three months may be the maximum that we can afford to close due to algal bloom.

"It's a calculated risk, but all business is about risk management and our partners are the best growers, the best managers and the best marketers in the world.

"If it's risk, it's risk in partnership with the best."

The iwi also has plans to cut down on losses to the local snapper population.

"We're encouraging boaties to go and fish there. We're putting in anchoring buoys so that recreational fishermen can tie up there and fish."

He believes the farm's presence will attract snapper and other fish, with spinoffs for charter operators and recreational fishermen.

But the most important part is generating jobs, money and a future for Maori in an area that, in the past two decades, has swung dramatically between economic prosperity and severe recession.

"We are creating our own economy, we are creating our own employment, we are creating our own new science, we are at the cutting edge of aquaculture in New Zealand."