Ōpōtiki is celebrating a milestone moment in its 20-plus year quest to establish a thriving aquaculture industry in the Eastern Bay.

In recent years, this vision has come to life with the construction of the harbour entrance and seawalls nearing completion, construction of the mussel processing facility employing more than 230 people, and three specialist marine farming vessels serving a developing mussel farming operation.

The latest development sees these vessels using the harbour entrance and tying up at the Ōpōtiki Wharf.

Whakatōhea Mussels Ōpōtiki has three specialist mussel boats - Northern Quest, Kukutai, and Pakihi Kura – which have been making more regular visits to their new home at Ōpōtiki Wharf in recent weeks.

Whakatōhea Ōpōtiki Mussels chief executive Peter Vitasovich said that the vessels tying up at the wharf was worth celebrating.

“This is a great opportunity to step back and see what has been achieved here in Ōpōtiki. This is a significant milestone for the growth of the district and the new industry. It is about more than just our vessels and this wharf; it is acknowledging the community support for the creation of this new industry and all the change and opportunity that is already bringing.

“It can be easy to not realise that this change is already happening here, so I think we should acknowledge these milestones when we can,” Mr Vitasovich said.

Whakatōhea Ōpōtiki Mussels are harvested from the mussel lines in the rich Bay of Plenty waters just off the Ōpōtiki coastline and processed at the purpose-built facility in Ōpōtiki.

Mr Vitasovich said vessels would be moving between Whakatāne and Ōpōtiki in the coming months as they transitioned between the two ports.

A new harbour has been constructed with twin seawalls and dredging creating a channel to the Ōpōtiki Wharf.

The wharf will be the interim home for the mussel boats while work gets underway on the private marina and commercial wharf planned for the western side of Pākihikura.

Ōpōtiki District Council own and manage the Ōpōtiki Wharf area and have been advocating for these projects over many years on behalf of their community.

“We are very pleased to see the boats arrive and start using the upgraded portion of the wharf and would like to thank Kānoa [Regional Economic Development and Investment Unit] for their support in assisting with funding and leading the works on the upgrade,” said the council’s group manager service delivery Nathan Hughes.

“The project has been a large-scale collaborative effort over many years between central, local and regional government, iwi partners, commercial operators and of course the community. So, as Peter says, it is great to look up from the mahi and acknowledge these milestones to appreciate how far we have come.”