O¯ pua site would see reclamation to build boat ramp and dock for oyster barges

Far North Holdings is applying for consent to reclaim an area of seabed for a new oyster barge dock and boat ramp at O¯ pua. It’s the Far North District Councilowned company’s second attempt to set up a new dock after the first was knocked back by independent commissioners in 2017.

Oyster farmers working in the Waikare Inlet need a new facility because the area where they land their shellfish has been swallowed up by the expanded Bay of Islands Marina. If it goes ahead, the new dock will also be used by marine contracting firms.

Originally Far North Holdings (FNH) applied to reclaim about 4500sq m of seabed and build a jetty and boat ramp at Colenso’s Triangle, a few hundred metres further up the Kawakawa River, as part of a combined consent application with the Bay of Islands Vintage Railway.

The railway eventually got its consent for a new station, with modifications, but the oyster dock and reclamation were refused.

This time FNH is applying to the Northland Regional Council and Far North District Council for a smaller reclamation of 1700sq m next to Bay of Islands Marina Boatyard, also known as Ashby’s Boatyard.

The plan still includes a ramp and a jetty with a berth for the steam ferry Minerva, which is being restored in O¯ pua’s industrial area.

One of the complications of the

I’m not against a commercial facility, I just don’t think they’ve considered alternative sites. Jim Ashby

Photo / Peter de Graaf Far North Holdings proposes reclaiming an area next to the O¯ pua end of the Twin Coast Cycle Trail for an oyster barge dock, boat ramp and jetty.