More than 15 southern waterways appear on a list of rivers "lost or in noticeable decline" as public trout fisheries. The list was coordinated by NZ Federation of Freshwater Anglers executive member Steve Gerard. Southern waterways appearing on the list include the Pomahaka, Oreti, Makarewa, Mokoreta, Upukerora, Whitestone and Mararoa rivers, and the Waipahi, Otamita, Waimea, Lora, Otapiri, Dunsdale, Hedgehope, Titipua, Waimatuku, Orauea and Mimihau streams. Gerard said New Zealand's trout fisheries were "going downhill". The mapping listed rivers where a significant loss of opportunity to catch fish had been identified, and highlighted "the significant decline in our freshwater fisheries".
The Pomahaka River, between Gore and Clinton, was formerly one of the country's prime trout rivers, "but water quality has declined markedly since about 1980, primarily because of intensive agricultural development," the federation says. The Waimea Stream, near Mandeville, had "some of the highest nitrate levels in Southland", and had become "no more than a dirty ditch in parts". Angler use of the Oreti River, between Winton and Invercargill, showed "a drop of a whopping 11,900 angler days per year since 1995"
"Only rivers where there was an obvious decline have been listed. There remain a significant number of others where there wasn't enough collaborating information to include them." He said the purpose of the list was to raise awareness "of just how big an issue this really is".
Source: Stuff, Sept 20, 2017
https://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/news/96846344/report-gives-inte…
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