The Unpredictable Art of Spawning

At Arapawa Blue Pearls, our day begins long before dawn breaks. By 5 AM, we are already up, preparing for one of the most crucial yet unpredictable processes in our work: spawning. This intricate task is filled with uncertainty, where success is never guaranteed, but our passion for these remarkable creatures drives us to persist.

The Preparation

We meticulously sterilize all equipment and tanks, ensuring a clean environment for the delicate process ahead.

By 6 AM, we’re at the paua farm, ready to begin the careful selection of paua with fat gonads—an essential indicator that they have not yet spawned. This selection is an art in itself, requiring a gentle hand and a keen eye.

We carefully flick back the mantle to inspect the gonads, searching for those with the right level of fatness. If we find paua that have already spawned, we move on, continuing our search until we have what we need.

 Checking to see if the paua has spawned  Looking for more paua that haven't spawned 

Creating The Magic Soup

Carefully preparing the magic mixture which will encourage spawning  Adding the mixture to the tanks of separated male and female paua 

Once selected, the males and females are separated into different tanks.

The preparation of spawning tanks then begins. This involves the careful mixing of chemicals: 13ml of hydrogen peroxide and 20ml of sodium hydroxide in 18 Lt water.

These are poured into the spawning tanks, creating an environment that mimics the onset of a storm, with super-oxygenated water. The Paua are then left in the dark for at least three hours to allow the chemicals to work their magic.

Waiting,  Waiting,  Waiting...

After the paua have spent their three or so hours in the dark, we drain the tanks and flush them thoroughly to remove all chemicals before introducing fresh seawater.

This change in environment, coupled with the earlier chemical treatment, encourages the paua to spawn.

Always making a note of progress, over the next few hours, we watch as the process unfolds—sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly—always with bated breath.

 Spending some much needed time in the dark... Making meteiculouse notes of the process 

Making The Babies

Spawning Male Paua  Spawning Female Paua 

Once the paua begin to spawn, we carefully siphon the eggs into a 75-micron sieve bucket. At this stage, the eggs are microscopic, resembling fine green dust.

The eggs are then mixed with sperm and left to fertilize for 15 minutes before being thoroughly rinsed and placed into hatching tanks.

Here, they remain for about 30 hours, depending on water temperature, until they begin to hatch.

Is  It  Science Or Luck?

This entire process, while rooted in science, feels like a blend of art and luck.

Despite our best efforts, success isn’t always guaranteed. Sometimes, only one female or one male will spawn, and we must start the process all over again.

There are times when the paua can go for long periods without spawning, testing our patience and resolve.

Yet, we persist, knowing that nature has its own rhythm and that, in time, our perseverance will pay off.

Growing tanks where paua larva grow Microscopic Paua Larvae

At Arapawa Blue Pearls, we embrace this unpredictability. It’s what makes our work with Paua so unique and rewarding. Each spawning season brings new challenges and new opportunities to learn, reminding us that the more we know, the less we truly understand. And in that mystery lies the beauty of what we do.

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