Our mission

"The key elements that are likely to make up the future of tourism involve human interaction, education, genuine experiences and an element of giving back."

Our Mission

'The Wharf Hub's mission is to enhance marine life
and human well being.'

Innately we can all sense that these two things are quite interdependent - marine life and human well being. After all no one wants to live by polluted waterways nor have oceans that are devoid of marine life. Our mission is to enhance the life of both.

Our history.

In 2007 a pioneering concept of building a 'Community Reef' close to the Opotiki Harbour entrance which would provide more diverse and sustainable fishing for the local community was born. This was a time of rapidly rising fuel prices and talk of a quota cut to just 3 snapper per person. (It was reduced to 7 and size increased to 30cm)
While deploying artificial reefs to improve fishing was common overseas, the same issues of fish depletion or what is known as the 'tragedy of the commons' kept reoccurring.
Albert Einstein is quoted as declaring "You can't use an old map to explore a new world."
In this light we evolved our thinking to 'Seabed Enhancement', and applied sustainable indigenous Maori environmental concepts known as 'kaitiakitanga'.
Very clearly 'invoking the spirit' is a fundamental part of such a system and world view. Four key elements to the project were identified in the early days of marine enhancement work that are now depicted as a logo on the bow of our office boat at The Wharf Hub.
An entity REAF (Recreating Enhanced Areas for Fish) was formed for registration purposes, and is now included in the affiliated Charitable Trusts name Opotiki Community REAF Trust.

The Wharf Hub

In 2010 The Wharf Hub was purchased and restoration work begun. It offered an accommodation base and larger property immediately by the Opotiki Wharf where work on the Community Reef could continue.