New biosecurity protections against the spread of the freshwater gold clam came into effect for Te Arawa lakes at midday on Friday 10 November 2023, including special measures to protect Lake Ōkataina.
Access to Lake Ōkataina will be controlled. The lake will be open Friday to Sunday 6:30am-7:00pm.
Under the special requirements of the new Controlled Area Notice (CAN), set in place by Biosecurity NZ, all boats must be cleaned at a designated wash station in Rotorua before entering Lake Ōkataina. This is in addition to the clam-specific Check Clean Dry requirements for all boats that have been in the Waikato River.
Read more from Biosecurity NZ here.