Mussel farmer strikes Coromandel gold
I believe as a human being we should have a natural affinity with our surrounding environment.
When other Kiwis his age were taking free bus rides with their senior’s card, Gilbert James was thundering across wild terrain at full gallop on horseback.
Despite not taking part in organised equestrian events until his mid-50s, James took to riding with the same conviction that has seen him become one of the country’s larger independent mussel farmers.
‘‘A chap here at Coromandel invited us to do a trial ride one day on a farm. When my horse took off at full gallop across the country side and jumped a hedge, it was so much fun that I was hooked,’’ James said.
Despite the risk of serious injury from a fall for the now 72-year-old, the adventure and challenge and connection with nature riding provides has kept James in the saddle for more than two decades.
‘‘I have really enjoyed riding on the backs of good horses across countryside that you never get to see otherwise. I’ve ridden on stations that I used to shear on. I’ve seen a lot of the North Island.
‘‘I was improving all the time and was still getting better into my 60s.
‘‘I still ride but every year I reevaluate and I’m taking it a bit easier these days.’’
It’s the same spirit of adventure and challenge that has kept him farming greenshell mussels for over 30 years.
‘‘ I’m just so lucky to have had that opportunity to have been in a sunrise industry. It’s been decades of hard work, innovation and challenge – all the good things.What an exciting ride it’s been.’’
It was a ride that started when James first recognised the opportunity of aquaculture. ‘‘ My family has lived in Coromandel for four generations. When I was a boy, the area was renowned for the wild mussel beds.
‘‘But the ’60s saw the virtual disappearance of the mussel beds.
‘‘I knew there was a market in Auckland because during my shearing days, you would hear people talk about getting a coal sack of mussels for 5 shillings, and 10 shillings on the Coromandel Wharf and then later a pound.
‘‘So I thought hell, if ever there was an opportunity a guy should farm mussels.
Coromandel mussel farmer Gilbert James is passionate about the environment. I couldn’t see it failing – I just had to learn how to farm them. There was a market just waiting.’’
James approached his father about leasing some of the family’s 200 hectare property, a former gold mine bought by his grandfather Arthur in the 1930s, at Preeces Point with direct harbour access.
‘‘I didn’t get enthusiastic about it until 1978 – but once I did, it became like a religious crusade in my head and from that, the people of Coromandel came to know me as a mussel farmer,’’ he said.
‘‘I had a good job that I should have been content with and I had four kids in Auckland, but I wanted to farm mussels.
‘‘I went to Dad and said ‘I’m going to be a mussel farmer and I think a good spot would be right here in this little bay’.
‘‘At that stage, there was no mussel farming industry in Coromandel – just an opportunity. I put in a long line in the harbour with five-year experimental licence from Wellington.
‘‘I still worked fulltime in my job in Auckland for two years after getting the licence and only left my job after I understood how to farm them and had proven that the market was there.’’
James named his business Gold Ridge Marine Farms in recognition of the history of his family’s land, and over the decades has expanded that one line into 21.5 hectares.
He has also worked to advance the wider industry, having called the first Coromandel Mussel Farming Association meeting in 1981 and served as its chairman since. He has served on the original Mussel Industry Advisory Council and later as a director on the Aquaculture New Zealand Board.
But while James will be long remembered as a mussel farmer, he hopes his environmental efforts will also benefit future generations.
‘‘In my spare time, I’m moving away from riding horses and focusing more on restorative planting projects to support native bird habitats on the property at Preeces Point, and at Warahoe Estate at Thames.
Like mussel farming, the restoration work has become a passion.
‘‘I’ve just always been interested in the bush and coastline and I put that down to my days as a boy where I was allowed to run free and wild through the hills, streams and mud flats,’’ he said.
‘‘I believe as a human being we should have a natural affinity with our surrounding environment.
‘‘I started planting about 25 years ago but really only got serious about it five years ago. It was like the penny dropped one day and I felt like I had to do it.
‘‘A lot of people at my age can remember great amounts of fish and birds and wildlife and a lot of that has disappeared. It’s a serious worry for me.’’
Working in balance with the environment is a non-negotiable part of the job. ‘‘I feel exceptionally strongly about protecting our environment and local waterways.