North Canterbury News: July 20, 2023

NEWS
The North Canterbury News, July 20, 2023
Spawning habitats hold hope for inanga
By DAVID HILL,
Local Democracy Reporter
ANorthCanterburystreamcould soon
be teeming withinanga /whitebait.
Inanga spawninghabitats have been
restoredinTaranaki Stream at
Waikuku Beach,giving hopethe
stream will return to being athriving
environment.
WaimakaririDistrict Council water
environment advisorSophie Allen says
inanga wereunder threat due to
climate change andchanging coastal
environments.
‘‘The question is oftenaskedwhether
inanga areafreshwaterspeciesora
saltwaterspeciesand the answer is
theyare both.
‘‘Their spawning areas needtobeon
the edgeofsaltwater and the
freshwater, butascoastal
environments change, wherewillthese
areas moveto?’’
At TaranakiStream,the banks had
risen overtimeand thegrasseshad
beeneatenaway by farmanimals.
The council nowownsthe land, with
the stream fenced offand thebanks
lowered and replanted, to providesix
regeneratedspawning habitats.
The earthworks happened around 18
months ago,withthe planting
completed last year.
Planningwas essentialasthe right
plants andgrasses were needed to
ensurethe eggs stayed dampand did
not get sunburnt, Ms Allen said.
‘‘Theyhavetobethe right plants.
Inanga likeplantswith lots of stems
and dense roots.
‘‘Itisstill early days, butwhenthe
plants grow to full sizeoverthe next
yearortwo we willget abetter idea if
Stream enhancement ... Waimakariri District Council water environment advisor Sophie Allen looks out across inanga /whitebait
spawning habitats at Taranaki Stream, near Waikuku Beach.
PHOTO: DAVID HILL
we havecreatedadeluxe habitatfor
thewhitebait.
‘‘Thefirst survey is saying we have
gotsomespawningreturning, which is
agoodstart.’’
Theinangaspawned around Easter.
They swaminto the habitat at high
tide and wriggled up intothe grasses to
laytheireggs.
‘‘They like to spawntogether in a
shoal. Thewatercan go white when
they all release theireggs together,’’
Ms Allen says.
The eggs hatchamonth later, with
the babyinanga beingwashed out to
sea.
There theyfeed until theyare
around sixmonths old, and return to
the freshwaterinthe spring.
If they avoid thewhitebaitnets,they
can growto80mmto110mm by the time
theyspawnasone­year­olds.
‘‘Some peopledoquestionwhether
we should be catching thematall, but
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thebiggest threat is nothaving a
habitatfor spawningbecausethe
streamkeepschangingand climate
change hasexacerbated that,’’ Ms
Allen says.
Theprojected was jointly funded by
theWaimakariri District Council and
EnvironmentCanterbury, and
supported by the Waimakariri Water
Zone Committee.
Public interest journalism funded
through NewZealand on Air.
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