There’s a lot more to pāua than just a pretty, iridescent blue shell - now there are pāua beer, pāua canapes, and abalone salami made from the versatile shellfish.
These not-so-normal, perhaps far-out ideas are thanks to the Auckland University of Technology.
This week AUT is hosting the 11th annual International Abalone Symposium, bringing together more than 200 delegates from around 15 countries to discuss pāua.
AUT marine ecology and aquaculture professor Andrea Alfaro says pāua beer is made like any normal beer, just with a taste of the sea, with aquaculture and food science students coming together to make the product.
“We did a survey. Half the people seem to like the stout, others seem to like the APA so I think it’s a 100% success,” she says.
Alfaro says multiple seafood companies have sponsored AUT in having their ideas a reality.
The power of pāua goes on full display soon!
'Huge opportunities'
Alfaro says the canapes made by the culinary sector of AUT "were fantastic. I’ve never tasted pāua that was so tender and beautiful.”
The symposium won’t just be an opportunity to showcase AUT products but also to hear from experts on various topics like climate change, fisheries and indigenous views on issues. Delegates include those from first nations in North America and more.
The shellfish might not be the country’s top export, having contributed $50 million to the economy in 2019, but “it’s a very special species,” Alfaro says.
“I think we’ve got huge opportunities to increase our production in aquaculture. There are at least a couple of farms in New Zealand that are producing abalone and, hopefully, we’ll see an increase in that and make a bigger market for ourselves.”
