September 15, 2020
Ti kouka lines could save kuku beds
Plaited lines made of cabbage tree leaves and other natural fibres have been deployed in Ohiwa Harbour to catch mussel spat in an attempt to reverse the decline of kuku beds.
Dr Kura Paul-Burke from the University of Waikato is leading the Awhi Mai Awhi Atu project, which is part of the Sustainable Seas National Science Challenge.
She says ti kouka proved the most effective of the natural fibres used last year in an attempt to replace plastic commercial mussel lines.
The lines were woven at a wānanga in August by award-winning weaver Roka Ngarimu-Cameron and her students.
Dr Paul-Burke says three of the four kuku beds in the harbour have disappeared in the past 10 years, and last year research indicated there could be as few as 80,000 baby kutai in the huge harbour, compared to more than 100 million in just one 2 kilometre reef in 2007.
The lines – with their kuku – eventually sink to the bottom and biodegrade, allowing the kuku to attach to the harbour floor as the foundation for a new bed.
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