OUR SCALLOP ENHANCEMENT PROJECT

This project was the initial driving force behind LMP and why we begun our journey.

Our Scallop enhancement project so far, has had 2 full seasons of development, and is in a 3rd exciting year.

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2022 - Pilot project (Waiheke) begun with us trialling various methods to find suitable spat trap arrangements. Early success gave us plenty of hope for future projects.

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2023 - Had us working with with  the help of organisations such as Science for Nature, Waiheke Marine Project, Auckland University. Our rig design was improved and 100 spat traps were deployed around the Hauraki Gulf. This season produced thousands of scallop spat, as well as a hand-full of horse-mussel spat (Science for Nature funded study).

The Horse Mussels and scallops have been released back into the ocean (April/May 2023) as they reached a size, we think is robust enough to survive outside in the wild. We estimate that the increased survival rate of scallops has been approximately 60-70% compared to spat in the wild. Release sites are now monitored by Auckland University, and has established outstanding survival rates for the juvenile scallops, doubling in size over 4-5 months.

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2025 - We are currently working with a community led scallop regeneration project at Opito Bay, Coromandel. Working with Ngati Hei, and keen, passionate locals, we have 10 rigs in operation around the coastline of Opito, and early inspections show positive Scallop spat collection.

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Going forward.... We have loved working with communities to help improve and understand their own underwater environments. We would love to continue this work with other passionate communities to really start making an impact on Scallop populations in the wild.

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