Are paua endangered? Why They Need Our Help Now

Standing on the rocky shores of New Zealand's coastline at low tide, the retreating water reveals nature's hidden treasures scattered across the dark rocks. A sudden flash of iridescent blue-green catches your eye among the seaweed and barnacles, something infinitely precious. It's a pāua shell, nature's own masterpiece that has graced these waters for over 250 million years.

But here's the sobering truth: these ancient survivors, who have survived ice ages and volcanic disruptions, are now facing their greatest threat yet. And surprisingly, it's not what you might expect. At Arapawa Blue Pearls, we've dedicated ourselves to understanding this crisis and, more importantly, to being part of the solution.

More Than Just Pretty Shells: The Soul of Aotearoa

For Māori, pāua isn't just another shellfish on the menu. It's a taonga, a cultural treasure that connects generations to the moana (ocean). Walk into any marae and you'll see pāua shells transformed into the eyes of ancestors in intricate carvings, their shimmer representing spiritual guidance and the eternal connection between land and sea.

Having survived through significant climatic changes and natural disruptions on the planet, the Abalone Pāua species should be considered as one of the most resilient species of all time! Yet this resilience is being pushed to its absolute limits.

The Perfect Storm: Why Our Living Jewels Are Disappearing

Imagine returning to your childhood neighbourhood and finding 84% of the houses gone. That's precisely what researchers discovered when they revisited Peraki Bay after 45 years: an 84% decline in pāua populations, with the remaining shells averaging 16.3mm smaller than their predecessors.

But the crisis runs deeper than numbers:

The Poaching Epidemic: In just one year (2004-05), nearly 1,000 tonnes of pāua were illegally harvested, which is roughly equivalent to 4 million individual pāua. Even more alarming? Three-quarters were undersized babies that had never had the chance to reproduce.

The Reproduction Trap: Here's the cruel irony, pāua are legally harvestable at the exact age they begin spawning (4-6 years old). It's like graduating from university and being immediately retired. Most get only 1-2 seasons to contribute to the next generation before ending up in someone's kai basket.

The Loneliness Factor: Young pāua are surprisingly social creatures. Research shows they actively avoid settling in areas without adults, even if the habitat looks perfect. It's as if they're saying, "If the grown-ups aren't here, something must be wrong." This behaviour means that once an area is depleted, natural recovery becomes nearly impossible.

Climate Change: The Silent Killer

Researchers have found that pāua shells are at a significant risk if there's continued ocean warming and lower pH levels, with the "devastating" effects of climate change on the ocean also threatening pāua, New Zealand's most internationally renowned shellfish.

Rising sea temperatures and ocean acidification aren't just scientific concepts; they're rewriting the rules of marine life. Warmer waters stress pāua, while acidification makes it harder for them to build their iconic shells.

Hope Rises from the Depths: The Comeback Story Begins

Just when the situation seemed hopeless, something remarkable happened. Communities, scientists, and iwi joined forces, combining ancient wisdom with cutting-edge science to orchestrate one of New Zealand's most ambitious marine restoration projects.

The 80,000 Miracle

This year marked a conservation milestone that we're incredibly proud to have been part of: over 80,000 juvenile pāua were successfully released back into the waters around Waiheke Island. But this wasn't just a numbers game; it was a masterclass in cultural and scientific collaboration, with Arapawa Blue Pearls providing the aquaculture expertise that made it all possible.

Five iwi, Ngāti Paoa, Ngāi Tai, Ngāti Tamaterā, Ngāti Hei, Ngāti Rēhua, and Ngāti Wai, led the charge. Ngāti Paoa's traditional pāua beds had been reduced to just a few hundred undersized individuals, a heartbreaking reminder of what had been lost.

The process reads like a carefully choreographed dance:

• Wild adult pāua are collected and brought to specialised tanks
• Under controlled conditions, they're encouraged to spawn, producing hundreds of thousands of fertilised eggs
• Juveniles are nurtured for months in protected environments, dramatically improving survival rates
• Before release, kina barrens are cleared, and rock "nests" are built to give young pāua the best chance
  

This is precisely the process we've perfected at Arapawa Blue Pearls, where our mission extends far beyond creating beautiful jewellery; we're actively rebuilding New Zealand's pāua populations one release at a time.

Science Meets Ancient Wisdom

What makes this project extraordinary isn't just the technology, it's how mātauranga Māori (traditional Māori knowledge) guides every decision. GIS mapping identifies historical pāua beds, environmental monitoring ensures optimal release conditions, and rangatahi (young people) learn to blend traditional practices with modern marine science.

Under the guidance of marine ecologist Professor Kura Paul-Burke, 40 pāua were collected for cross-breeding and spawning at our partner facility, Arapawa Seafarm in Marlborough, resulting in the successful production of 80,000 young pāua ready to be released.

Breaking News: New Discoveries Fuel Hope

Biologists have discovered a new species of pāua mollusc (also known as abalone) off New Zealand, with the discovery of the Manawatāwhi pāua, unique to the Three Kings Islands, highlighting the need to build taxonomic expertise to speed up work to describe thousands of as-yet unnamed species.

This recent discovery reminds us that New Zealand's marine world still holds secrets. The Manawatāwhi pāua grows to just shy of 40mm. It is unlikely to have any commercial value and therefore does not require conservation efforts. However, this species is another in the list of taonga (treasures) unique to Manawatāwhi specifically, and to Aotearoa more broadly.

The Ripple Effect: Why Saving Pāua Saves Everything

Pāua aren't just beautiful, they're ecosystem engineers. These herbivorous molluscs help maintain the delicate balance between sea urchins and kelp forests. When pāua populations collapse, kina (sea urchins) can overrun kelp beds, creating underwater deserts called "kina barrens."

By restoring pāua populations, we're not just saving one species; we're rebuilding entire underwater communities that support countless other marine life.

Your Role in the Rescue Mission

The question isn't whether pāua can be saved; the 80,000 juveniles thriving in Waiheke waters prove it's possible. The question is whether we'll act fast enough and commit deeply enough to turn the tide.

How You Can Help:

Choose Wisely: When buying pāua products, support sustainable aquaculture operations like Arapawa Blue Pearls that actively contribute to conservation efforts rather than depleting wild stocks. Every purchase from our farm helps fund our reseeding programs and restoration projects.

Experience Our Mission: Visit our farm to see conservation in action. Our pāua pearl tours not only showcase the beauty of our cultured pearls but also demonstrate how sustainable aquaculture can be a force for ocean restoration.

Respect the Rules: If you're harvesting pāua recreationally, stick to the 5-per-person daily limit and the 125mm minimum size. Every undersized pāua returned to the sea is a potential parent for thousands of future offspring.

Support Local Heroes: Back organisations and iwi leading restoration projects. At Arapawa Blue Pearls, we're proud to partner with these community leaders, providing the technical expertise that turns conservation dreams into reality.

Spread the Story: Share the pāua's plight. Many New Zealanders don't realise how close we are to losing this iconic species, or how businesses like ours are working to prevent it.

The View from Tomorrow

Imagine your mokopuna (grandchildren) diving in crystal-clear waters, watching adult pāua gracefully graze on kelp while their iridescent shells catch shafts of sunlight. Picture marae where paua-eyed carvings continue to watch over ceremonies, and coastal communities where sustainable pāua harvesting supports both livelihoods and ecosystems.

This isn't just a dream, it's the future we're actively building through projects like the Pou Rāhui initiative and our sustainable aquaculture operations at Arapawa Blue Pearls.

The pāua has survived for 250 million years, weathering mass extinctions and climate upheavals that would make today's challenges seem trivial. With our help, guided by both science and ancestral wisdom, these living jewels will continue to grace New Zealand waters for millions more.

The choice is ours. The time is now. The pāua are waiting, and at Arapawa Blue Pearls, we're not waiting to act.

Ready to be part of the solution? Visit our farm to see pāua conservation in action, or explore our sustainably crafted pāua jewellery that directly supports our restoration efforts. Every purchase helps fund the next generation of pāua being returned to New Zealand waters.

Want to see the restoration in action? Watch the full project video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hen-vGbfheg&t=14s