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Huka Prawn Park has been a Taupō landmark for decades.
It has been a Taupō institution for a long time, but Huka Prawn Park has been forced to close its shrimp fishing facilities after the numbers mysteriously dwindled.
New Zealand’s only shrimp park has been farming tropical shrimp in geothermally heated waters for 30 years, and in the last few years, the number has decreased. This year, the numbers are lower than ever and have puzzled park staff and scientists.
Co-owner Richard Klein said he was “devastated” to have to temporarily close the part of the park where shrimp is fished, which is located on the upper banks of the Waikato River.
“But we, along with our consulting scientists, are really baffled by what is happening to shrimp. And for whatever reason, the problems get worse in the summer. “
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This year’s decline appeared to be a different problem than the one they thought they solved, although growing a tropical species in a temperate climate was always a challenge.
While the prawns still featured in the park’s restaurant, Klein said the park recently hadn’t been able to grow enough to meet demand.
“We had to supplement them with identical ethically grown prawns from Thailand … They are still on the menu and served in a picturesque riverside setting,” said Klein.
The business was committed to overcoming the frustrating problem, he said, but fortunately years ago it had branched out into other activities “to get the kids off the couch” with shrimp fishing just part of the park’s range of group activities. relatives.
“We are confident that we will continue.”
TAMARA THORN / THINGS
Visitors to the park have been complaining about the lack of prawns in the fishing pond for some time.
Visitors have been complaining about the lack of prawns in the park for some time.
A recent TripAdvisor reviewer for Feilding said she and her friend had visited “for a fun day ready to catch a prawn or two, or at least grab a few bites.”
“After paying, the lady told us that they had not caught many shrimp at this time,” he wrote. “I went 2 hours without a single bite. Waste of my money and time. In fact, I am convinced there are none in the pond at the moment. “
A Wellington critic, who visited the park in October, said she and her partner reluctantly parted ways with $ 119 to take their five-year-old daughter and her grandparents to the park, but they didn’t catch a single shrimp.
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Prawns from the park no longer appear on the restaurant menu due to the decrease in numbers.
“The whole hour and a half that we were sitting there, we saw that they were catching a shrimp. Walking around the ponds looking at the buckets of people, our daughter counted 5 prawns around the two ponds we were in, yes! 5! “
Another visitor from October had a similar experience.
“I didn’t catch anything not even a bite,” he said. “It seems like everyone (is) experiencing the same thing. I asked the staff and they said they lost a lot of stock from the blockage. It seems kind of stinky to have everyone fishing without shrimp. “
Robert Steven / Stuff
The park’s other facilities include Taupō’s first and only “Aqua Cycle Water Trike.”
Nonetheless, the park retains a four out of five star rating on TripAdvisor.
The park initially started as a project to raise tropical shrimp in captivity using heat from the geothermal power plant next door.
Over the years, it was added to their facility and has become a popular tourist attraction, especially with families. As shrimp numbers have decreased, it has developed even more alternative attractions, including a paddle board and a paddle pond that will open shortly.
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Huka Prawn Park’s low shrimp numbers have led to other attractions being developed to compensate.
Other facilities include paddle boats, water tricycles, rainbow trout feeding, and a riverside walk that ends in geothermally heated baths to soak your feet.
Tours of the shrimp nursery and hatchery can also be taken, allowing visitors to feed the shrimp.
Entrance fees to the park have been reduced slightly as a result of the closure of the shrimp fishery. Adults now pay $ 25 to enter the park instead of $ 29.50, while children pay $ 13.50 instead of $ 16. Family passes for two adults and up to five children cost $ 65.
