ABSTRACT
Exploitation of rock oyster beds under government control began in 1877 in the northern parts of the North Island, and licenses for “picking” natural beds were issued between May and September every year. In the days before the advent of the Pacific oyster, the rock oyster formed very thick beds, 10 to 12 cm deep and about 1 m wide, in the intertidal zone along the coast, around the numerous islands off the coast, and among the mangroves. The rock oyster is essentially subtropical in character and can withstand temperature maxima of 25°C in the summer, and winter minima of 12°C. Saccostrea glomerata ranges along both coasts of the peninsular part of the North Island, north of 38°, and extends to the coast of the Coromandel peninsula and tapers out along the Bay of Plenty up to East Cape.
