The whitebait story

 

n Whitebait season runs from August 15 to November 30, except for the West Coast and Chatham Islands.

n Whitebait are a threatened species and in decline due to large scale habitat changes in some

catchment areas.

n The word ‘Whitebait’ is a collective term describing the juvenile stage of five species of native freshwater fish that migrate in large mixed shoals from the sea to freshwater rivers and streams during the season.

n The five main species of Whitebait – inanga, koaro, banded kokopu, giant kokopu and shortjaw kokopu – belong to the Galaxiidae family, which was named after the Milky Way galaxy as the very first species described was sprinkled with dazzling spots.

n Galaxiid species are found in many places in the Southern Hemisphere, but the giant, shortjaw and banded kokopu only exist in New Zealand.

n Inanga migrate downstream to estuaries and lay their eggs among plants and grasses, whereas koaro and kokopu stay where they are and lay their eggs on leaf litter and forest plants.

n The eggs stay out of water for several weeks, and need good plant cover to keep moist. They hatch when re-immersed, either by spring tides (for inanga) or floods (for koaro and kokopu). The larvae then float out to sea where they live and grow over winter, migrating back upstream as Whitebait in spring.

-- More info at whitebaitconnection.co.nz

REVIVED: Maungaturoto school students, parents, and project partners are upgrading a Maungaturoto whitebait spawning habitat. PHOTO/ Steven Gale, Fonterra