World Fish Migration Day A Success

Dozens of Canterbury school children have had a fun-filled day at Opawa School in Christchurch getting hands-on experience of what fish have to go through as they migrate up and down our rivers.

Opawa School was the host for World Fish Migration day and Fish & Game staff from the Central South Island and North Canterbury regions used a portable river bed to show them how sports fish overcome the challenges of migration.

Dozens of salmon yearlings leapt over wooden barriers to show the children from 10 schools and the public how they traverse our rivers and streams.

World Fish Migration Day is an international event that promotes the importance of fish passage in maintaining freshwater fisheries.

The Department of Conservation, Environment Canterbury, New Zealand Fish Passage Advisory Group, EOS Ecology, Marine Ecology Research Group (University of Canterbury) and Working Waters Trust were there too with similar displays, including live native fish.

The public were able to participate in the Whaka Inanga project, which aims to use straw bales in designated spots along the Avon and Heathcote rivers to provide temporary spawning for Inanga (whitebait) and provide some baseline monitoring to help in the future restoration of whitebait populations.

For a video of the days activities click here