Taura kuku: prioritising Māori knowledge and resources to create biodegradable mussel spat settlement lines for shellfish restoration in Ōhiwa harbour

ABSTRACT Mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge) is grounded in place-based, multi-generational knowledge and the connection of that knowledge with the environments from which it is derived. It takes for granted that all elements of the natural world are related, and it is upon those relationships that survival depends. A Māori worldview advocates for the responsibility of each generation to pass onto their descendants at least as good a supply of resources as they, themselves, had inherited. For Māori, the wellness of the environment is a direct reflection on the wellness of the people. This article provides an overview of a practical mātauranga Māori-led marine restoration project in Ōhiwa harbour. The transdisciplinary project worked with a traditional Māori master weaver and kaumātua (tribal elders) to develop biodegradable taura kuku (green-lipped mussel spat settlement lines, hereafter taura kuku) made from traditional Māori plant biowaste and other natural materials. The taura kuku proved a successful tool for the recruitment and settlement of wild mussel spat assisting shellfish restoration and increasing marine biodiversity in the culturally and ecologically important mahinga kai (traditional food basket) of Ōhiwa harbour.