The larger, fluted shells in the centre of this photo belong to Pacific oysters, which attach themselves to dead shells or rocks. Their sharp-edged shells are a hazard for barefoot beachcombers. Pacific oysters arrived in New Zealand waters around 1950, reaching the Marlborough Sounds in 1977. Since the 1990s they have been commercially farmed; these oysters in Ōhiwa Harbour, Bay of Plenty, probably originated from an oyster farm further up the bay.
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Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand
Photograph by Peter Hodsell
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