68 | PRODUCTION Whakatōhea Mussels “The Whakatōhea Mussels Processing Facility means a lot for the community. Our story shows that if you have the vision and commitment to develop a legacy for the next generation anything is possible.” to page 70 Visionary venture a labour of love Karen Phelps The world’s first Open Ocean Greenshell™ Mussel Farm has been a real labour of love for the small Eastern Bay of Plenty town of Ōpōtiki. With the support of local iwi, the surrounding community, and national government, the fledging venture is already making a marked difference to the region, says Open Ocean Chief Executive Peter Vitasovich. It was over 20 years ago that local iwi Whakatōhea created the aspiration to develop a Greenshell™ Mussel Farm off the coastline of Ōpōtiki. The vision was that the farming operation would be the foundation of employment for their people, provide income for whanau, and support improved outcomes for the entire community. But creating a venture of such magnitude has been no easy feat. The consent process took over 10 years of legislative change and resource consent approval, followed by a further five years of research and feasibility trials. The application for a marine farming space was launched in 2000 and granted in 2009. Capital was the next challenge. For the next five years local iwi, the community, and shareholders sought to raise the funds to get the vision off the ground. Peter says it is a great example of the community coming together, with both local Māori and Pakeha, businesses, families, and local trusts investing to enable the farming operation to further expand. “It was seen as a risky venture as it was something new for the world,” says Peter. Development of the marine farm started in 2014. By 2018, there were ideas to expand further with the development of an Ōpōtiki-based mussel processing facility. Construction of the Whakatōhea Mussels Processing Facility commenced in March 2020 and was completed in July 2021. During harvesting season mussels are collected from the Whakatōhea Mussel Farm and delivered directly to the facility for processing. The facility has the capacity to produce various mussel products for domestic and international markets with products ranging from frozen mussel meat, frozen half shell, to live whole shell. bcdgroup.nz Engineers | Planners | Surveyors Hamilton | Tauranga | New Plymouth 07 839 9107 STRUCTURAL & CIVIL ENGINEERING | GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING FIRE ENGINEERNG | DRAUGHTING | SURVEYING PLANNING & RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PROUD CONSULTING TEAM OF ENGINEERS & PLANNERS FOR WHAKATOHEA MUSSELS
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