The application has been made by the Patuharakeke Te Iwi Trust Board under Section 186A of the Fisheries Act 1996. The closure would cover approximately 1.46 square kilometres of fisheries waters, bounded by the Marsden Point Marine Terminal jetty and Whangārei Harbour channel buoys 18, 16 and 14.
Patuharakeke kaitiaki have monitored shellfish populations at the banks since 2015, and their surveys consistently show pipi and kūtai (green-lipped mussel) numbers remain well below levels that could sustain any harvest. A February 2026 survey covering 86 locations on Mair Bank confirmed the beds have not recovered. Between 2020 and 2022 the pipi bed area fell from around 30,000 m² to under 10,000 m², and repeated mass mortality events, sometimes exceeding 5,000 pipi at a time, continue to set back recovery.
There are some encouraging signs. Kūtai have recently begun reappearing in the shallow lagoon near Channel Infrastructure, which Patuharakeke regard as a positive tohu (sign) of gradual repopulation. The hapū wants time to monitor that recovery carefully before any harvest resumes.
The proposed two-year closure would also allow Patuharakeke to advance their Mātaitai Reserve application and carry out small-scale seabed survivability trials in partnership with NIWA.
Submissions close at 5pm on Monday 18 May 2026. Email FMSubmissions@mpi.govt.nz.
