Ōpōtiki Harbour Complete: Boosting Bay of Plenty Aquaculture and Jobs Growth

Work on a new harbour servicing the eastern Bay of Plenty is complete, unlocking opportunities for aquaculture and marine industry growth, new local jobs and regional prosperity, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says.

The extensive work on Ōpōtiki Harbour over a number of years includes the construction of two 350m long harbour walls and dredging of the channel.

This is the first major harbour built in New Zealand in decades. The new walls and dredging have created safe access for mussel boats and other seacraft, as well as enabling greater capacity for future marine expansion in the area, Mr Jones says.

The construction stage created around 200 jobs, as well as indirect employment in related industries, including the establishment of two rock quarries and an expanded local cement operation.

Following the completion of dredging in September, the Ōpōtiki Harbour project is now operational. Its success has been underpinned by a strong commitment from local community leaders, iwi, and councils to create new jobs and increase local incomes.

We first started talking about the vision for the harbour in 2018 and we are now seeing it come to fruition. At that time, economic modelling by Ōpōtiki District Council conservatively predicted the harbour development would produce $132 million in economic benefits for New Zealand and I look forward to this becoming a reality over time, Mr Jones says.

The harbour was developed with $95.2m of government funding from the Regional Investment Opportunities Fund and $20m from Bay of Plenty Regional Council. Government also invested just over $52m from 2019 to 2025 in the local mussel-processing business Whakatōhea Mussels (Ōpōtiki) Ltd from the former Provincial Growth Fund.

This is a significant Crown investment in Ōpōtiki and the local aquaculture industry, contributing to the Coalition Government’s goal to increase annual aquaculture sector sales from $750m to $3 billion by 2035, Mr Jones says.

The mussel industry is now a significant employer in Ōpōtiki, with more than 200 full-time staff. The industry is a major contributor to the local economy and is expected to continue to grow in the years to come.

The harbour is an example of the type of collaborative project that is going to lift regions in New Zealand back into prosperity, Mr Jones says.