Te Awa teaser

What do this sign,

a speckled fish

Torrentfish. Photo: Angela Fox

and a bunch of creepy crawlies have in common?

Mealworms (darkling beetle larvae). Photo: Erica Prier.

They are all new and upcoming displays in Te Awa. Stay tuned for more details about the new residents that will be moving into Te Awa over the next few months!

The fritters that never were

Shortjaw kokopu (Floppy above, Grey below). Photo: Angela Fox.

Did you know that whitebait fritters are actually made up of lots of tiny little fish that eventually grow up to be much bigger fish like those in our native tank? Those tiny little fish are called fry and they travel from the sea up our rivers and often into the net of a whitebait fisher. If they aren’t caught, those fry grow up to be a variety of fish in the Galaxias genus, but they are better known to most people as kokopu and inanga.

Giant kokopu (Scarface). Photo: Angela Fox

This giant kokopu is one of those species threatened by over-harvesting. There is increased pressure on all of the whitebait species, with four of the five species considered threatened by the Department of Conservation. Scientists like Mike Joy, a local fish expert from Massey, and anyone passionate about conservation are calling for tighter regulations around whitebait fishing in order to prevent overfishing and the possible collapse of these unique fish.

Read: Controls called for to let whitebait recover

So the next time you are picking out a treat at the fish ‘n chip shop, spare a thought for our local fish friends and order a hot dog!