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Story: Seafood

Collecting pipi

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Collecting pipi

Shellfish were an important part of the Māori diet, which included at least 40 different species. Pipi, a shallow sand-burrowing shellfish found in estuaries and sandy river mouths, was a favourite, judging by the heaps of shells found in coastal middens.

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How to cite this page

Maggy Wassilieff, Seafood – New flavours, old habits, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/5116/collecting-pipi (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Maggy Wassilieff, published 2 March 2009.