PÃÂua is the MÃÂori name given to four New Zealand species of large edible sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs which belong to the family Haliotidae (in which there is only one genus, Haliotis).
It is known in Australia and the United States as abalone, and in the United Kingdom as ormer shells. In New Zealand, these are known as , which (as is the case with nearly all MÃÂori words) is both singular and plural. In New Zealand, the pÃÂua's polished inner shell is widely utilised for jewellery and ornamentation.
There are four species of New Zealand pÃÂua:
H. pirimoana is a small, recently described species endemic to ManawatÃÂwhi / the Three Kings Islands that superficially resembles H. virginea.
PÃÂua are commonly found in shallow coastal waters along rocky shorelines in depths of 1 to 10 metres (3' to 30'). There is clear distinction between juvenile and adult habitats for Haliotis iris: pÃÂua less than 7 cm (3") occur in crevices and under stones in the shallow intertidal zone while adults are found in the subtidal zone.
These large sea snails survive strong tidal surges by clinging to rocks using their large muscular foot. They consume seaweed.
PÃÂua are gathered recreationally and commercially, with strict catch limits set for both. For recreational fishermen this is five pÃÂua per person per day. The minimum legal size for caught pÃÂua is for Haliotis iris and for Haliotis australis, measured in a straight line at the greatest length of the shell. The exception is Haliotis iris taken from the Amateur Taranaki Paua Fishery Area, which is the area of Taranaki coast bounded by the Awakino River in the north and the Whanganui River in the south, in which the minimum legal size is . However, pÃÂua caught in this area cannot be taken east of State Highway 4 unless they meet the limit.
In addition, no single person may have in their possession at any time (including on land) more than 20 pÃÂua or more than of shucked (shell removed) pÃÂua. PÃÂua can only be caught by free diving: it is illegal to dive for pÃÂua using scuba equipment. All pÃÂua must remain un-shucked until they are on the land side of the high tide mark so that Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) fishery officers can inspect them if required.
There is an extensive global black market in the collection and export of abalone meat. PÃÂua poaching is a major industry in New Zealand with many thousands being taken illegally, often undersized. The right to harvest pÃÂua can be granted legally under MÃÂori customary rights, but since permits to harvest are abused, it is difficult to police. The limit is strictly enforced by roving MPI fishery officers with the backing of police. Fishery officers can issue infringement notices of between $250 and $500 for minor offences, such as having one or two more pÃÂua than permitted. More serious offences have resulted in hefty court convictions, including seizure of diving gear, boats, and motor vehicles as well as large fines and in rare cases, imprisonment.
To MÃÂori, pÃÂua are recognised taonga, or a treasure, esteemed both as (seafood) and as a valued resource for traditional and contemporary arts and crafts. PÃÂua were often harvested by diving. Two traditional methods for collecting pÃÂua included using a specialised flat tool called a mÃÂripi to pry pÃÂua off the sea floor, or by placing an Astrostole scabra (seven-armed starfish), a major predator of pÃÂua, atop the shell. PÃÂua could be eaten raw, smoked, cooked in a hÃÂngë, or preserved. Preserved pÃÂua were often kept for winter months, or used as items to trade with inland iwi.
PÃÂua shells are frequently used to represent eyes of human and animal figures in MÃÂori carvings, and used as decorations on cloaks and in earrings. PÃÂua is traditionally associated with the stars or , the symbolic eyes of ancestors that gaze down from the night sky.
During the colonial era of New Zealand, British settlers detested the taste of pÃÂua, but had an appreciation for the shells. PÃÂua shells were highly requested items on the second voyage of James Cook, and were highly sought after by 19th century British jewellers. Eventually pÃÂua became a part of the European New Zealander diet, first often appearing in soups and chowders. An international market for pÃÂua meat began in the 1970s, after which pÃÂua numbers dropped in the wild.
Whole shells were commonly used as ashtrays through the 20th century, and highly polished New Zealand pÃÂua shells are popular as pieces of modern jewellery, with their striking blue, green, and purple iridescence.
PÃÂua aquaculture is a growing industry in New Zealand. The industry was started in New Zealand in the 1980s, and to date there are 14 pÃÂua farms operating throughout New Zealand, from WhangÃÂrei to Stewart Island. The first farms consisted of small-scale backyard and shed farms in which techniques and processes that grew good-quality pÃÂua were developed; these are now being used on a commercial scale in large pÃÂua farms. These farms produce pÃÂua for their meat and shells, and some include the production of blue pearls. Most of the production from these farms is exported to the US and Asian markets.
There is high demand on the worldwide market, as decline in wild stocks due to overfishing and poaching means that the global market for abalone is greatly undersupplied.
Most pÃÂua farms grow pÃÂua produced from wild broodstock; however, some have developed their own hatcheries and selective breeding programs to produce faster-growing species. The pÃÂua are grown to market size (depending on conditions, this usually takes 2âÂÂ3 years) in either long trays with inflow of seawater at one end and outflow at the other, or smaller tanks with tipper buckets that regularly dump seawater into the tanks to recreate the wave motion that pÃÂua experience in the wild.
A number of different feeds are used throughout the pÃÂua's life-cycle. PÃÂua hatch as trochophore larvae and feed on plankton present in seawater pumped into the holding tanks. When the larvae are ready to settle (usually 7 days at ), they are moved to settlement tanks that consist of many glass plates with small films of diatoms present (usually Navicula minimata). The diatoms are the main food source for the juveniles until they reach about in length; the diet is then switched to a macroalgae species. Several species have been used, including Lessonia variegata, Pterocladia sp. and Ulva lactuca; however, research has shown that pÃÂua will eat most seaweed species. The pÃÂua are considered adults at around in size and are then fed on a meal-based diet until they are ready for processing and sale.
To produce pÃÂua pearls, the pÃÂua are harvested from the wild stocks (at the legal size of ), and shell or plastic implants are either poked through the shell or fixed in place under the shell with glue. The shape of the insert dictates the shape of the final pearl. After the pÃÂua are âÂÂnucleated,â they are kept in tanks for 2 to 3 years and fed on either seaweed or meal, during which time they coat the insert with nacre. They are then harvested from the tanks, the meat is shucked, and the pearl is removed.
The quality and size of pearls changes depending on the size of the pÃÂua. The pearls tend to be smaller when hatchery-reared pÃÂua are used, which is why pÃÂua from the wild are preferred. High stress levels within the farm can prevent the pÃÂua from coating the insert to produce the pearl, so control of conditions to ensure that the pÃÂua are not stressed is paramount.
PÃÂua shells make up the decoration on Xena's first chakram in the hit TV series '. Although the show was set predominantly in ancient Greece, pÃÂua shell was used because it is native to New Zealand, where the show was filmed.