Five living fish nurseries have been installed around Mahurangi Harbour as part of the project to recreate lost mussel reefs in the Hauraki Gulf.
The nurseries have been formed by laying more than 50 tonnes of mussels - the equivalent weight of more than a dozen school buses - on the seabed.
Mussels help to filter seawater, and mussel reefs are nurseries for juvenile fish and have 10 times more fish than the gulf's barren seafloor, the Revive our Gulf Trust says.
It says pilot mussel beds installed last year proved a success, with baby snapper, koheru, goatfish, spotties and even squid seen using them.
The trust works with the government, iwi, Auckland University and the aquaculture industry, which supplies the mussels for planting.
The latest consignment was driven up from Coromandel and sent by barge to restoration locations.
The goal is to have the reefs in place for the summer fish breeding season, when the young of species like snapper are looking for a suitable habitat to hide out and feed.
Marine scientist Peter van Kampen says 1200 sq km of historical mussel beds were once found within the Hauraki Gulf.
"We've restored less than 0.1 square kilometre, so we have a lot of work to do."
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