Central HB River Update

Our Field Officer has been out in Central Hawkes Bay checking on river access, here's his report:

Overall a long day on the road but worthwhile getting out to assess our waterways and do some overdue maintenance. State of the Tukituki river to the best of our knowledge is that there are fish about, food source is a problem and any rain event seems to discolour all rivers in our catchment rather quickly. Tukituki seems to be the best of all our rivers here in the Bay. Feedback and information from our Central HB crew about the status of the rivers would be much appreciated. We would like to hear local knowledge on how things are going down this way other than when we are in the area, as well as feedback on any of our other rivers.
 
I sadly only spotted one fish the whole day but I spoke to some experienced anglers who had seen fish the last few days on both the Tukituki and Mangaonuku. Exactly whereabouts shall remain a secret sorry. Discolouration or turbidity of the water could be due to a number of factors i.e. mineral content, temperature or nearby gravel extraction work. Mostly though as you can see from the photos taken there is not a lot of new life, which is due to a higher than normal silt count. As the summer warms up we will begin to see lower water levels and this in turn will bring possible algal bloom, Phormidium. So PLEASE keep your dog/s close by or in your vehicle.

Point 20. Block Rd. Spoke with farmer who was concerned about the number of campers staying at these access points. Rubbish, waste and generally no concern for landowner or their crops as well as gates being left open. NOT ANGLERS.

Access 17. Patangata, new signs placed at entrance, Harakeke trimmed back and tidied. River Rd 16. Sign placed at entrance and replaced Didymo sign.

Access 15. Pourerere replaced both signs. Access good.

Access 14 No access contractors still on work site.

Access 13. Taiparu Rd + Ongaonga Rd

Access 6. Burnside Road no signs but access is good, will need new posts to enable signage.

Waipawa River looked very clear.

Mangaonuku River Access point 5. gate has been damaged.

Makaroro River Access point 1. New sign erected and access is good, water had some discolouration in comparison to Access 5.

Waipawa River Access point 2. Good but once again, more turbidity than further downstream. Tukituki River Access point 3. Steep track to river so engage 4WD.

Access 2 is not up as far as you would think approx. 400 metres from where gravel/ metal begins. Access 5. SH50 New signs erected and removed foliage. River was not clear.

Access 6. Sign replaced.

Access 7. Replaced Didymo signage. Access was very good.

Access 8. SH2 Good.

Access 9. Lindsay Rd. New sign erected at gateway.

Access 10. Not able to truly locate exact entry point.

Access 11. Cleaned signage.  

Access 12. Cleaned and straightened signage. 

As mentioned earlier before in my notes, we are very privileged to be able to access rivers through private farm land. So it only takes a few to ruin it for everyone, in the case mentioned above it sounds like general public are causing a bit of a stink! Best thing for anyone seeing this kind of behaviour is to get the perpetrators vehicle registration and let us know here at HB Fish and Game as soon as possible. PLEASE, Do not approach them, we can collect intel which may lead to us being able to identify and prosecute regular offenders.  Another thought we could consider is to include NO CAMPING PERMITTED and CLOSE ALL GATES wording on our signs. This is just a general thought and your comments are very welcome on this matter. Having to resort to locking gates would be our last option so if we can avoid implementing this kind of measure would be a better outcome for our anglers.