Harvesting takes place throughout the year, timed to coincide with mussels reaching peak condition.  The early-bird crew of Aotearoa Seafoods' specialist harvesting vessel, the Te Au Miro, leave the port of Havelock in darkness, pulling up the first lines as the sun melts early morning mist off the sea.

Our harvesting is synchronised with factory production scheduled to ensure mussels spend a minimum time out of the water, and is suspended if significant rain falls (to eliminate the risk of bacteria being washed off the land and ingested) and during spawning (when shellfish become undernourished). An independent regulatory auditor, the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), is employed to monitor rainfall using automatic gauges situated throughout the Marlborough Sounds.

All of New Zealand's shellfish-producing waters are regularly monitored for the presence of naturally occurring but potentially toxic algal blooms, with harvesting temporarily ceased if their presence is confirmed.  Such blooms are extremely rare in our Marlborough Sounds and never widespread, possibly due to geographical isolation and relatively cool waters.