Freshwater fish decline not unique to NZ



One of NZ's most endangered species, the Giant Kōkopu. Photo: Shaun Crooks



It turns out that New Zealand isn't the only country to have a rapidly declining population of freshwater fish. A study carried out in North America predicts 86 species and subspecies will go extinct by 2050. The article pins pollution as a major contributor to freshwater fish decline, an issue that is key in waterway degradation in New Zealand as well.

Read: Freshwater Fish Are Dying at Alarming Rates

Don't be discouraged by the doom and gloom predictions of this article, though, help keep our waterways and our fish stock healthy by taking simple steps like keeping rubbish and other pollutants out of streams and rivers. It may sound too simple to solve such a serious issue, but every positive effort helps.

For more information on what you can do, read: New Zealand's native freshwater fish (DOC publication)

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!

Happy one year anniversary, Te Awa!

Common Bully Female. By Angela Fox.

A year ago, Te Manawa’s exhibition about the Manawatu River opened and this exhibition was the first of its kind at this institution because it incorporates live animals, or as we like to call them – live exhibits! We keepers have learned a lot since taking on the daily care of cave weta, tree frogs, and several types of native fish – some of the knowledge was passed down from our expert consultants, but most was on the job learning. Possibly our most successful component is the large 5000 litre native fish tank, where we have nearly every aquatic resident that started off the exhibition last year as well as several recent additions that have happily integrated into the tank.

We would like to kick our blogging into first gear now in order to share what we’ve learned about our animals in the past year, provide more information about the animals on display, and give an up close view of what it’s like to be an Animal Keeper at Te Manawa. Please feel free to post any questions you might have so that we can look at answering them in upcoming posts.

Happy reading!