Declining Native Fish

 

Whitebaiters line the banks of the river from the Haiku bridge down to The Landing during the season. It is hard to get reliable information on the size of ‘the catch’ from season to season but one long-term local fisher has given up, saying it is hardly worth the effort. He remembers catching all he wanted in the 70s and 80s and the gradual decline since then has turned into a slump.

The bulk of the whitebait catch is comprised of īnanga, which breed only once in their short lives, laying their eggs in estuaries and river mouths. Also included are the juveniles of kōaro and three species of kōkopu. The latter four species migrate from the estuary into upper catchment sites where they can live for 10 years. Regulations around whitebaiting have not changed since the mid-1990s, despite four out of the five whitebait species having 'threatened' status.

Inanga swim around in this whitebaiter’s bucket while the juveniles of the other four species jump out of the water at sides. Their jumping and climbing skills help them to overcome most natural migration barriers, but not overhanging drainage pipes, blocked culverts and other similar man-made obstacles. Whitebait spawning habitat is degraded in most catchment further exacerbating the pressure on our whitebait fishery.

Frequent fish surveys have revealed low numbers of fish in this section of the catchment. This is not surprising as habitat and food sources are poor. Longfin eels and giant bullies have both been found and their numbers should increase as habitat and food source improve over the next stage of the restoration project.