Chris and Rhonda Hensley at Houhora, 40kms north of Kaitaia, are spat collectors. Chris, who was raised at Ngataki, and Ronda, also manage a mussel farm and have a feijoa orchard.
“I began helping collect mussel spat for distribution to mussel farmers with Dad in 1978,” says Chris. “Until then MAF had been the collector and supplier but they were less efficient than mussel farmers needed them to be. When a Marlborough Sounds mussel farmer came north looking for spat on a more efficient footing, Dad saw an opportunity.
“Bob Hickman from MAF originally connected to the idea of a resource – he noticed tiny mussels on seaweed.
Spat – Photo courtesy Kaitaia Spat
Mussel spat is only found on Ninety Mile Beach, and then only in ideal wind and sea conditions which include little to no swell, plus an offshore wind. As one of only five spat collectors in a highly competitive fishery supplying the entire mussel farming industry, Chris goes up the beach every time the conditions are right.
“You can usually tell pretty quickly if there are going to be any. It’s not entirely seasonal but mostly spat beaches through late winter and spring. These days it’s easier to predict with swell maps and more accurate weather forecasting. We spend a lot of time patrolling up the beach in a 4-wheel drive ute looking for indicators such as the presence of seaweed.
Spat gathering by hand at Ahipara, Far North, New Zealand – Photo courtesy Kaitaia Spat
“If we find spat we’ll get back-up with a truck and trailer and a modified tractor. The tractor has been raised so it can get into the water and scoop the spat before it strands. At $5-$10 per kilo, farmers want the cleanest they can get. The best spat is on seaweed the size of your fingernail – it nets easily, flows better, and is easier to use.
“Spat are found in very high numbers on seaweed; up to 4,000,000 at less than half a milimetre, per kilo and for larger ones from 1-2mm, around 300-500,000per kilo. With high count spat some inevitably drop off. Perhaps 1-2% is retained.
Spat collection and large spat fall – Photo courtesy Kaitaia Spat
“No-one knows where mussels spawn or where they come from. NIWA says 4-6 weeks after a mussel spawns, the spat will settle on whatever substrate it finds. It often attaches to seaweed which floats north with the currents and finally strands on Ninety Mile Beach.
“Some years we’ve had good strandings every month, but that hasn’t happened for seven or eight years. This year, there hasn’t been any for five months. In recent years we’ve had more easterlies making the west coast calmer than it has been historically. Mussels are more likely to spawn in rough conditions, so this probably affects supply as well.
Kaitaia Spat Ltd packing shed – Photo courtesy Kaitaia Spat
“Once we have the spat, we load it into a chilled truck. I get it to the shed and Rhonda takes over from there. She organises the sorting, packing, marketing and shipping. It has to be managed really well so it gets to farmers in good condition quickly.
“Spat grows incredibly fast in spring and that’s what farmers want so that mussels dominate the ropes and not algae.
“Farmers want a steady supply so they buy “in case”. To solve the problem they sometimes buy quotas and many fisherman sold them theirs. We’ve kept ours because our 35% means that Northland retains some say in the fishery.
©Theresa Sjoquist
Theresa Sjoquist
Bioforce
Daily Organics
Theresa Sjoquist
