Thursday, October 5, 2017
RENOWNED shucking gun, Mahaki Maxwell gets through the last of around 250 kilograms of mussels before the next lot arrives tomorrow. Photo Ross McCullough OB3089-1
THE fifth harvest this year of Whakatohea Mussels has begun to arrive at selected stores across the Eastern Bay, with more of the highly sought-after and tasty shelled morsels arriving tomorrow.
On Tuesday night, Whakatohea’s mussel boat Northern Quest, brought in the first of the harvest with another lot scheduled to be harvested tonnesight and available tomorrow from Opotiki New World and Foodstuffs Bay of Plenty stores, Ocean Seafoods in Opotiki, and Gibbos Fish in Whakatane.
The mussels sell for between $4.49 and $5 a kilogram.
In all, Ocean Seafoods proprietor Barry Howe said about 10 tonnes of the mussels were being harvested this time round, with it taking Northern Quest around one-and-a-half hours to harvest each sack of 400 mussels.
Mr Howe said the condition of the mussels had been sporadic, owing to the weather conditions, which in terms of rainfall and sea conditions had been one of the worst on record.
He said there wasn’t much consistency with the condition of the mussels, but this was getting better and better by the week.
Although the mussels lacked condition at present, he said they made up for it with their distinctive flavour.
“There’s no doubt they have better flavour than anything else around.”
Mr Howe said the new harvest of mussels would not last long, so people would have to be quick to get their hands on some.
But he also said the frenzy of the first Whakatohea mussel harvest last year was over, with people realising that the mussels were coming in at regular intervals now.
Compared to last year, when about 50 tonnes of the Opotiki (Whakatohea Mussels) were harvested, this year there will be about 350 tonnes harvested.
Mr Howe is hopeful that next year the tonnesnage harvested could increase to 2000 tonnes.
He said there was the possibility next year of putting a container of the local mussels together for an export shipment under the Open Ocean Mussels brand.
But any decisions on that would be up to the commercial arm of the company and the board, he said.
He said the mussels from the farm off the coast of Opotiki wouldn’t really spawn until about Christmas time, with harvesting continuing to take place from now up until about mid-November.
As well as being a purchaser of the product Mr Howe, like others from the community, is a shareholder of the mussel enterprise.