Regeneration scheme for Paua

Poachers have devastated the paua industry often taking all of the shellfish in a bed, leaving it no chance of future regeneration. PMC chief executive Jeremy Cooper believes it is hard to get an accurate figure on the scale of poaching, but in Wellington the illegal amount exported is believed to be double the 160 tonnes legally exported.

Many believe that unless something is done soon to stop the decline, the industry will be finished in 10 years.

Paua seeding has been trialed for ten years in the Chatham Islands, Malborough, Kaikoura and Stewart Island and results show it can be done on a commercial scale.

The programme is expected to begin in Kaikoura and the spread to other areas. The process will involve around 800,000 juvenile paua around 10 millimetres in length being placed below the low tide mark. From here the paua are expected to make a home amongst rocks and move in deeper water as they grow. It is estimated to take between 4 and 6 years from seeding to the shellfish reach maturity

If commercial fishermen agree to the plan, assistance will be required for the 5 commercial paua farm hatcheries to supply juvenile shellfish