ORA & Save Our Scallops

ORA Scallop's impact

ORA Scallops is an ORA-led public-good recovery platform created to rebuild scallop abundance in Aotearoa. We combine restoration trials, wild spat and stock intelligence, grow-out systems, monitoring, iwi/community partnerships and low-impact fisheries innovation to support the recovery of wild scallop populations and the future transition of the fishery.

See our stories

80mm

Scallop Target Growth/annually

95%

Nursery survival to 40mm

9000

Scallops reseeded to wild

70%

Pilot grow-out survival to 80mm

Spat collection sites in Hauraki Gulf & Northland

$1.8m

Invested to date via ORA to lead recovery

Our work

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ORA Scallops is pioneering regenerative scallop farming in Aotearoa, combining innovative cultivation methods with hands-on restoration to rebuild depleted wild populations and develop a sustainable, premium seafood industry.

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Through hatchery development, scalable grow-out trials and low-impact fishing innovation, we work alongside iwi, hapū, scientists and industry partners to create lasting ecological and economic benefits for coastal communities.

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Over 9,000 cultivated scallops have already been returned to depleted seabeds, with a further 40,000 planned for 2026–27.

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With NZ$1.7 million committed towards a NZ$3 million funding goal, ORA Scallops is working to demonstrate how regenerative seafood production and marine ecosystem restoration can thrive together, from hatchery to seabed.

How we get there

Rebuild supply

Aquaculture and restoration methods are optimised with nursery and grow-out trials, and by adapting international innovation and techniques for local conditions. We have led farm and restoration trials for 3+ years alongside iwi, our farming partners, and the University of Auckland.

Support low-impact harvest and fishery transition

We are testing methods for harvesting scallops using low-impact techniques such as potting and hand-gathering, with the goal of finding commercially viable alternatives to dredging of the fishery. Our work aligns with Fisheries NZ to help forge a pathway toward sustainable fisheries transition.

Restore wild populations

We prioritise targeted restoration in the new Hauraki Gulf Marine Protected Area network and key protected broodstock locations. We deploy targeted reseeding, survival monitoring, biomass rebuild in wild populations of scallops and recruitment learnings to build the evidence base for recovery.

Enable regenerative seafood pathways

ORA’s public-good work helps de-risk future commercial models, including Scallops Aotearoa. This work also helps de-risk a future regenerative seafood venture, Scallops Aotearoa, which is being developed outside ORA to explore premium market, aquaculture and low-impact supply pathways.

Why it matters

• The New Zealand scallop, Pecten novaezelandiae, is a remarkable species

• Scallops have reached the point of collapse

• Degraded habitat, low biomass and weak recruitment reduce recovery

• Closed scallop fisheries means kiwis can’t access local scallops

• No scallops means lost regional seafood identity and commercial value

ORA Scallops

Venture focus:

Decades of over-harvesting, destructive fishing methods and habitat degradation have pushed Aotearoa’s scallop populations into decline.

Our work

Why it matters