Farmer investment pays off – Dwarf Galaxiids sign of healthy streams in eastern Rangitīkei catchment
Dwarf Galaxiids sign of healthy streams
in eastern Rangitīkei catchment
RRCC Media Release: 20 January 2024
Investment by landowners to keep stock and sediment out of the Rangitīkei River and its tributaries has been given the big tick from a population of Dwarf Galaxiids, which require healthy streams to survive.
RRCC’s Mangawharariki sub-catchment group landowners fenced the main part of Mangawharariki River that runs through their farms and have been monitoring the water quality monthly since January 2020. The Galaxiids were discovered during a stream health assessment workshop the farmer led RRCC Mangawharariki sub-catchment group organised to look in-depth at stream health, by counting the number of macroinvertebrates within a section of the river. “The fish are not well known, and it was hugely exciting to find the small fish” says Louise Totman, RRCC catchment coordinator.
“It was extremely rewarding to find the fish. Landowners fenced the main river some time ago as a freshwater requirement and a few of us dedicated landowners have also been fencing along the tributaries of the river to keep sediment and nutrients out of the water“. says Greg Clifton, Mangawharariki sub-catchment group chairperson.
Dwarf Galaxiids are small non-migratory fish native to New Zealand. According to DOC, “Galaxiids belong to an ancient, scaleless fish family called Galaxiidae – for the Galaxy-like gold flecks and patterns on their backs. Unlike whitebait, which migrate to sea, some non-migratory Galaxiid species live out their entire life in the stream or river in which they hatchi.”
“Since 2018, RRCC have built a significant regional dataset of water quality monitoring. Three to five years of data has been collected from nine of our twenty-two sub-catchment groups, and this will continue to grow year on year. “The fish are a good indicator of healthy water, and a lack of predators. Galaxiids are a perfect snack for introduced trout, but because of the old hydro power dam at the bottom of the Mangawharariki River, trout can’t get up this far,” says Louise Totman.
RRCC is a farmer led collective of rural residents and landowners working together with funding from the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) to protect the environment and enhance biodiversity in the Rangitikei, Turakina and Whangaehu River catchments. RRCC farmer members undertake monthly water quality monitoring at 88 sites across its 700,000ha catchment.
For further information contact:
Greg Clifton, Mangawhariki RRCC sub-catchment chair, 027 388 7456
Louise Totman, RRCC Coordinator, 027 361 6686
Roger Dalrymple, RRCC Chairperson, 0274532400
