Evidence of Martin Unwin - Environment Canterbury

19and Waitaki), which collectively account for 17% - 26% of all riverangling in New Zealand. All four rivers sustain annual spawning runswhich generally number in the thousands and may exceed tenthousand fish; and attract at least ten thousand angler-days per year,distributed throughout the length of the river. For these reasons, allfour are considered nationally significant (Teirney et al. 1982, Unwin2006).8.6 The Hurunui River sustains the most heavily used salmon fishery inCanterbury after the four nationally important rivers (Unwin 2006), andthe fishery has been ranked as regionally significant in all surveyswhich have been conducted over the last thirty years (Bonnett et al.1991, Teirney et al. 1987, Teirney et al. 1982). Regionally significantsalmon fisheries are characterised by annual spawning runs whichgenerally number a few thousands but rarely if ever exceed tenthousand; angling effort is usually between two and ten thousandangler-days per year, with salmon angling predominantly confined tothe river mouth and lower reaches; and are mostly fished by anglerstravelling within their home F&G region (Unwin 2006). Salmon anglersshow a strong preference for the lower and middle reaches of theHurunui River (Teirney et al. 1987), with few salmon caught upstreamof Mandamus (Bonnett et al. 1991).8.7 The level of effort devoted to the Waiau River salmon fishery isunknown, but – on the assumption that the total effort is evenly dividedbetween salmon and trout angling – is unlikely to exceed 1,000 - 2,000angler-days per year (c.f. Table 8). This level of usage, together withthe local origin (North Canterbury or Nelson/Marlborough) of mostNew Zealand resident anglers, suggests that the Waiau Salmonfishery is of regional importance.Effects of a Dam on the Upper Hurunui River8.8 The Hurunui salmon fishery depends on both adult and juvenilesalmon having unrestricted passage between the river mouth and theSJE-388879-28-627-V1:axm