Mission Bay Mussel Reefs

I was very pleased to see so many green lipped mussels here. I thought it might be interesting to survey them as there size and abundance are good indicators for how a restored reef might manage this close to Auckland City.

REEF 1 (huge composite photo)

REEF 2 (huge composite photo)

I saw the odd blue mussel, cats eye, kina, eleven arm, cushion star, asian tunicate and fanworm but green lipped mussels were by far the dominant species. There were only a few spots where oysters and barnacles were coming out on top.

Some of the seabed around the edges of the reef was littered with shells.

But the shells quickly give way to sandy sediment.

These holes look to me like snapper are active in the area.

These white fronted terns looked happy but the black backed seagull and variable oyster catchers were happier eating the mussels.

Size
Most mussels were 7-8cm long. But there were a few around the 10cm mark. I think I was looking at two generations?

UPDATE: November 2016
The green lipped mussels have been heavily harvested. There are maybe 20-30 adults left across both reefs. Some juveniles amongst the remaining blue mussels. Rock oysters and blue mussels now the dominant species.