Celebrating the lowland longjaw galaxid
Endangered fish live in creeks and streams all over Waitaha/Canterbury. We caught up with experts at a Fish Celebration Day organised by a local catchment group to find out what's being done to protect them in the Upper Waitaki catchment.
The Upper Waitaki catchment is our largest inland basin, distinctive thanks to its alpine ice fields and lakes, braided river plains and internationally renowned lakes like Takapō/Tekapo and Pukaki.
It’s also home to some of our most endangered native fish species.
Endangered fish education and awareness
The Ahuriri Catchment Community Group (ACCG), together with EOS Ecology, recently hosted a Fish Celebration Day in the catchment to educate and raise awareness about the species that live in the area and what can be done to protect them.
Members of our Land Management and Biodiversity teams, along with representatives from EOS, ACCG and several local farmers, travelled to Corbies Creek to learn from Department of Conservation (DOC) rangers and Martha Jolly, who is completing her PhD at the University of Canterbury on built and natural barriers protecting native fish species.
“These populations of endangered fish species are really small and fragmented,” Jolly said.
Of particular note is the lowland longjaw galaxid, one of Aotearoa/New Zealand’s most endangered fish.
“We have seven known populations left, all at risk of extinction through extreme events like floods, droughts and invasion by bigger predatory fish such as trout,” she said.
Together with partners across the region, we have funded deliberate fish passage barriers to protect indigenous biodiversity in a practice known as isolation management.
The lowland longjaw galaxias, one of our most endangered fish. Photo credit: Angus McIntosh, University of Canterbury
Leading the way in fish management
Corbies Creek, the location of Ahuriri Catchment Community Group’s field day, is home to one of the fish barriers we've funded.
Aotearoa leads the way globally in the practice and it’s been gaining traction globally over the last 10-20 years.
“These barriers are often funded by agencies such as Environment Canterbury and monitored by DOC, and they’re critical to the survival of some of our most threatened fish species.”
Jolly said knowledge of these methods – and their effectiveness – often get forgotten about in internal reports and sees her PhD as a “vehicle for spreading the word”.
“It hasn’t taken me long to become passionate about these shy, cryptic species that deserve not only protection but celebration as part of our heritage and future,” she said.
The ACCG is one of several active catchment groups in Upper Waitaki and is also supported by the Upper Waitaki Water Zone Committee.
A fish barrier in Fork Stream, Mackenize Basin, that protects many endangered species. Photo credit: Martha Jolly, University of Canterbury