# Outdoors > Fishing >  Tuatua

## veitnamcam

Any hints tips tricks to gathering them?
How deep do they burrow in the sand/mud?

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## Danny

Here in the BOP ankle deep at the most under the sand, normally feel them under the surface of the sand with your toes then grab them, nice raw or I also like them just boiled so they open up and spit the sand out on bread and butter. Low tide. 


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## Boaraxa

They make great pattys to

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## 223nut

Just make sure its open season, know southland had closed them all off for ages on oration beach

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## veitnamcam

> Just make sure its open season, know southland had closed them all off for ages on oration beach


Google no help there, infact I cannot find any closures anywhere in NZ only Cockles and Toheroa up north.

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## veitnamcam

bout to go for a look...take a shovel or rake?

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## Pengy

> bout to go for a look...take a shovel or rake?


I think using tools is a no no

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## 223nut

> Google no help there, infact I cannot find any closures anywhere in NZ only Cockles and Toheroa up north.


My bad.... Meant toheroa must need more coffee

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## veitnamcam

> I think using tools is a no no


For tuatua in particular?
the local Maoris out your way use rakes for cockles and hammers for rock oysters.

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## Pengy

I cant find the relevant info, but I am sure I read somewhere that you are not allowed to use any implement to gather shellfish at all. 
Hammer makes sense though.

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## Rushy

My old man had it sussed when it came to getting Tuatua from the beach.  He would send us kids out to get them.  They make a great fritter.

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## LOC

we get them a lot up this way. look for areas along a beach with heaps of (dead) shell life and importantly tuatua shells. often not as far out as you think. dig with your feet. if you find one keep concentrating on that area as they often are in groups. break up a weetbix in new salt water, i throw in a frozen coke bottle to keep it cool. leave minimum four hours

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## veitnamcam

That was a lot easier than I expected 



Lots of small ones high graded by about 75%

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## Tommy

I usually keep them in a bucket of seawater overnight to let them spot the sand out. Have had smoked on vogels, raw in a shot of vodka with tobasco sauce, fritters, and as part of a chowder. They are pretty good. Smoked with garlic on toast was bloody brilliant

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## Marty Henry

Tools are a no no, use your feet and do the tuatua shuffle sinking up to your ankles easy as bloody tasty but let them spit out the sand first or theyre a bit gritty.

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## veitnamcam

> we get them a lot up this way. look for areas along a beach with heaps of (dead) shell life and importantly tuatua shells. often not as far out as you think. dig with your feet. if you find one keep concentrating on that area as they often are in groups. break up a weetbix in new salt water, i throw in a frozen coke bottle to keep it cool. leave minimum four hours


I found the sand/mud in this spot too hard to dig with my feet but I found areas where just the tips of the shell must have been very near the surface and I could feel them with my feet walking around then dig with my hands.

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## veitnamcam

> we get them a lot up this way. look for areas along a beach with heaps of (dead) shell life and importantly tuatua shells. often not as far out as you think. dig with your feet. if you find one keep concentrating on that area as they often are in groups. break up a weetbix in new salt water, i throw in a frozen coke bottle to keep it cool. leave minimum four hours


I found the sand/mud in this spot too hard to dig with my feet but I found areas where just the tips of the shell must have been very near the surface and I could feel them with my feet walking around then dig with my hands.

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## LOC

nice one. that sounds even easier. delicious little buggers. enjoy

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## veitnamcam

Just tried a few of em.
Very sweet and bloody yummy ....still need to sit overnight but not nearly as Sandy as the cockles I would normally gather.

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## gadgetman

Used to gather them for bait. Never eaten any before.

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## veitnamcam

> Used to gather them for bait. Never eaten any before.


Far too tasty to use for bait.

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## Rushy

> Far too tasty to use for bait.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G800Y using Tapatalk


Don't under estimate their usefulness as bait VC.  Snapper go mad for them.

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## gonetropo

many a younger year was spent getting these delicious shell fish, once got put them in a bucket of clean salt water till they release all the sand. i found that placing them on a hot plate till they just open and then opening them and a dash of hot english mustard was bloody awesome

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## gadgetman

> Far too tasty to use for bait.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G800Y using Tapatalk


Not surprised they are good eating. Just about needed to follow the line down to separate the fish enough for one to hook up.

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## veitnamcam

> Don't under estimate their usefulness as bait VC.  Snapper go mad for them.


I have caught plenty of snapper over that bed.

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## veitnamcam

Bit of a marathon cooking them open at around  20 a time.
I worked out to do this with cockles as if you have a full pot and one has sand in it you have just put sand threw all of them.



Half in fritters tonight with gurnard and salad and the other half in a seafood mornay.





Wife gets the credit for the fritters  

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## mikee

> Bit of a marathon cooking them open at around  20 a time.
> I worked out to do this with cockles as if you have a full pot and one has sand in it you have just put sand threw all of them.
> 
> 
> 
> Half in fritters tonight with gurnard and salad and the other half in a seafood mornay.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Dam they look real tasty

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## veitnamcam

> Dam they look real tasty


I could take you to my secret spot to get a feed if you like?

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## shift14

Limit of 50 per gatherer here. Some beds are right at the low tide mark, at the other end of the beach there's beds at the high water mark.

They were washed up on the beach this morning when I went paddle boarding, the oystercatchers had a feast!
We leave them overnight in salt water to spit the sand out, and steam them just till they open.
Do fritters or grill in the shell with chili sauce ....






B

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## Danny

Yum yum. 


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## Tahr

Recreational limits are here:

https://fs.fish.govt.nz/Doc/5670/TUA_07.pdf.ashx

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## R93

> Limit of 50 per gatherer here. Some beds are right at the low tide mark, at the other end of the beach there's beds at the high water mark.
> 
> They were washed up on the beach this morning when I went paddle boarding, the oystercatchers had a feast!
> We leave them overnight in salt water to spit the sand out, and steam them just till they open.
> Do fritters or grill in the shell with chili sauce ....
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ...


No disrespect meant but that bottom pic would make a great scenic pic without the people in it. 

Stunning shot.

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## FatLabrador

Whats that beach

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## shift14

> Whats that beach


Pauanui, Coromandel 

B

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## veitnamcam

They look great !
And stunning pic even with people in it  :Thumbsup:

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## Gapped axe

The people in it, give the picture an action feeling, and depth, good pic. Up to Cooks Wednesday night for a week of SUP, fishing and you guessed, harvesting shellfish.

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## R93

> The people in it, give the picture an action feeling, and depth, good pic. Up to Cooks Wednesday night for a week of SUP, fishing and you guessed, harvesting shellfish.


It is still a great pic no doubt. Maybe just me but the pink catches my eye.

But still it is by far the best pic I have ever seen of people gathering shellfish😆


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## Gapped axe

you just like Blondes

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## Kooza

Tuatua 
Reminds me of a joke from Thames high 3rd form

'Been to katikati?'

No matter what the response, the reply is 

'Doesn't matamata'

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## veitnamcam

@shift14 what sort of tidal range do you have on that beach?
We have around 4.5m from low to high in my region.

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## shift14

> @shift14 what sort of tidal range do you have on that beach?
> We have around 4.5m from low to high in my region.


Nothing like that Cam, high of 1.93 today, low of 0.42, so 1.51m change today.

B

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## veitnamcam

> Nothing like that Cam, high of 1.93 today, low of 0.42, so 1.51m change today.
> 
> B


Interesting......just your comment about beds on the high water mark had me thinking.
Not something I have ever searched for before or even seen others looking for them.....cockels on the other hand every barstard is after them and hence all the decent sized ones are gone.....at least in the areas close to me.

Now I know what I am looking for I will certainly be doing some investigations all around tasman bay.

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## shift14

> @shift14 what sort of tidal range do you have on that beach?
> We have around 4.5m from low to high in my region.


  @veitnamcam,  we've got the Manukau Harbour off our front lawn and across a reserve, high today of 3.37, low of 0.79, diff of 2.58m, all flows out through the Manukau Heads, the bar has claimed a few...., it's a big harbour, muddy though.

Often exposed scallop beds around from us.

B

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## veitnamcam

> @veitnamcam,  we've got the Manukau Harbour off our front lawn and across a reserve, high today of 3.37, low of 0.79, diff of 2.58m, all flows out through the Manukau Heads, the bar has claimed a few...., it's a big harbour, muddy though.
> 
> *Often exposed scallop beds around from us.*
> 
> B


Thats Awesome! are they on a muddy bottom?
Scollop decline(virtual extinction in shallow waters) here has largely been put down to bottom change with a thick layer of muddy sediment covering the once sandy bottom due to mostly forestry run off but all development is to blame......also playing a part is constant commercial bottom trawling smashing up any life that could clean up the waters and provide habitat.

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## Beaker

> It is still a great pic no doubt. Maybe just me but the pink catches my eye.
> 
> But still it is by far the best pic I have ever seen of people gathering shellfish
> 
> 
> Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk


You were just looking at arse...... own up  :Have A Nice Day: 


Fantastic pic either way to. Neat place

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## shift14

> Thats Awesome! are they on a muddy bottom?
> Scollop decline(virtual extinction in shallow waters) here has largely been put down to bottom change with a thick layer of muddy sediment covering the once sandy bottom due to mostly forestry run off but all development is to blame......also playing a part is constant commercial bottom trawling smashing up any life that could clean up the waters and provide habitat.


 @stretch might be able to add info about the scally beds, they're in his area, guys from work get some when it's a super low tide, they boat in and wait for the tide to ebb I believe.

B

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## 7mmwsm

> @veitnamcam,  we've got the Manukau Harbour off our front lawn and across a reserve, high today of 3.37, low of 0.79, diff of 2.58m, all flows out through the Manukau Heads, the bar has claimed a few...., it's a big harbour, muddy though.
> 
> Often exposed scallop beds around from us.
> 
> B


What are you scallops like up there? 
I frequent Kawhia and the scallops there are very average compared to the east coat ones. I presume the Manukau has a fair bit of sediment flowing out of it like Kawhia.

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## stretch

> @stretch might be able to add info about the scally beds, they're in his area, guys from work get some when it's a super low tide, they boat in and wait for the tide to ebb I believe.
> 
> B


No first-hand knowledge of the scallop beds rumoured to be in the Waiuku channel between Clarks Beach and Matakawau. Last I heard from a local fisherman mate was that it has been plundered and/or covered in mud. The tide absolutely rips past the point across Clarks Beach, and the mud flats go out for a good couple of km before you hit the channel. Might go for a walk at next superlow tide...

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## LOC

I've caught scallops at Clarks Beach quite a few times. Never deeper than chest height water at low tide. Last time was probably 8 years ago though as the viz is generally only about 20-30cm and I've since worked out how many great whites live in the manukau from fishing reports. On the same weekend I went two white sharks were caught 5km away from each other but only 30 mins apart. Can think of way better places to catch a feed...


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## veitnamcam

> I've caught scallops at Clarks Beach quite a few times. Never deeper than chest height water at low tide. Last time was probably 8 years ago though as the viz is generally only about 20-30cm and I've since worked out how many great whites live in the manukau from fishing reports. On the same weekend I went two white sharks were caught 5km away from each other but only 30 mins apart. Can think of way better places to catch a feed...
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


Ah common...wheres ya sense of adventure ! :Thumbsup:

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## Rushy

> Ah common...wheres ya sense of adventure !


Queue the theme from Jaws.

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## veitnamcam

> Queue the theme from Jaws.


Saw some big bitey things this morning actually.....eating the snapper off my longline  :Oh Noes:

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## Rushy

> Saw some big bitey things this morning actually.....eating the snapper off my longline


Bastards.  All the fish in the sea and they take the one one your line.

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