Spotlight surveys for migratory whitebait species in 15 rivers on the South Island’s West Coast Technical Report
- Author
- Orchard, S.
- Year
- 2021
- Publisher / Organisation
- Waterlink
- Pages
- 27
- Summary
- Migratory fish such as the whitebait galaxiids (īnanga, banded kōkopu, koaro, shortjaw kōkopu and giant kōkopu) and eels require management interventions at the whole catchment scale given their migratory life-histories. This requirement does not fit well within species and ecosystem prioritisation systems which operate on a site-based approach. These species were recognised in the Biodiversity Contingency Business Case (BCBC) approved by the Minister of Conservation and the Minister of Finance on 11 November 2018 which released $76 m over four years to the Department of Conservation (DOC) to work towards an ultimate future state of ‘all migratory and marine species have a representative network of secure, stable or increasing sub-populations’. Funding was secured for a workstream on three priority species: shortjaw kōkopu (Galaxias postvectis), classified as threatened-nationally vulnerable; īnanga (Galaxias maculatus) and longfin eel (Anguilla dieffenbachii) both classified as at risk-declining based on their current population trends (Dunn et al. 2018). The primary objective of the workstream is to ensure population security for these three migratory species. All of these species are vulnerable to impacts from loss of habitat for different life stages, loss of access to upstream habitat, changes in water quality and overharvesting. Useful management interventions are expected to include adult fish and spawning habitat protection and restoration, ensuring compliance with fishing regulations, and improvements in fish passage where needed to address the migratory life cycle.