The fertile land around the centre of the bay's coast is extensively cultivated and known for its horticultural crops such as apples, kiwifruit, olives, grapes and hops. In the middle of the twentieth century the Tasman Bay area produced large crops of tobacco. There is a tobacco museum in Motueka. It is also the most densely populated part of the South Island's north coast, and several towns and the city of Nelson are all located close to the shore. These towns include Riwaka, Motueka, Māpua and Richmond.
