This experiment is to test survival of kūtai / green-lipped mussels in Jones Bay Lagoon. The man-made lagoon is:
- Shallow but not impacted by storm surge
- Very accessible for a small, land based deployment
- Protected from fishing
- Is downstream from a restored wetland but the stream is very silted
Location of deployment: About <1m below low tide.
On the 15th of June 2023 2.1 kg, 40 mussels bought from supermarket. 12 floated, 4 floated away, 8 were held for 5 mins until they all sank. 36 kūtai were scattered over the seafloor, only half of them touching each other.
On the 11th of July 2023 (after a lot of rain and poor weather conditions) just three kūtai were found alive in a clump together. Two fragments of broken shell covered in sediment at the site suggested wildlife predation was a significant factor in the losses.
