Local whitebaiter Michael McLeod wants the Hawke's Bay Regional Council and Department of Conservation to do more to open the Tukituki River mouth. Photo / Warren Buckland
Local whitebaiter Michael McLeod wants the Hawke's Bay Regional Council and Department of Conservation to do more to open the Tukituki River mouth. Photo / Warren Buckland
A local whitebaiter is calling on the Hawke's Bay Regional Council and Department of Conservation to help whitebait in the region by opening the Tukituki River mouth.
However, both the regional council and DoC say the river is opening, and whitebaiters appear to be having a relatively "successful" season.
MichaelMcLeod has been whitebaiting along the Tukituki River all his life - his go-to is a "basic" whitebait fritter in white bread with a bit of butter.
But in recent years, a blocked river mouth has affected whitebait populations, he said.
"The mouth being unblocked is critical to the existence of the whitebait and other species of fish.
"If they cannot enter the river to breed then how will they survive, and if the mouth is blocked how will the eggs that do make it get out to sea to hatch.
Michael McLeod has been whitebaiting along the Tukituki River all his life and feels the river mouth has become blocked in the past two years, affecting whitebait numbers. Photo / Warren Buckland
The river mouth must be maintained and unblocked to maintain the ecosystem of the river, he told staff at the council and DoC.
His pleas for action, however, have fallen on "deaf ears", he said, with the two "passing the buck" between them.
"They are not willing to listen.
"There's a breakdown in communication and responsibility."
Regional council team leader schemes Antony Rewcastle said the Tukituki River mouth was open, though he acknowledged it was "a little shallower than normal".
"Whitebaiters have been fishing at the mouth in the last few days with some success."
He said significant action had and continued to be taken by the council and DoC.
McLeod said the regional council acted only when the blocked river mouth risked assets or local homes through flooding, he said.
"[Regional council] say they are all about the ecosystem, but they won't do anything about it.
"It's almost hypocrisy and contradicts they are interested in maintaining the environment."
Rewcastle said the regional council was responsible for maintaining the flood protection scheme, with mechanical river mouth opening used to reduce flooding and protect assets like residential housing near the waterway.
"Our responsibility is to protect the community from flooding.
"River mouths are opened after they have been closed by natural occurrences such as low river levels or high swells, which close the river mouths through wave action against the shoreline."
Regional council team leader schemes Antony Rewcastle said the Tukituki River mouth was open and whitebaiters this season had had "some success". Photo / Warren Buckland
McLeod said local whitebaiters were equally frustrated and wanted something done to open the river mouth more.
He said both DOC and the council were quick to blame whitebaiters for what he saw as declining whitebait numbers - one regular he knew had given up on this since, after catching only 12 in a day.
"We are the ones who know it best and deal with it all the time. Whitebait in Hawke's Bay is disappearing."
Hawke's Bay senior community ranger Chris Wootton said the region had an "abundant whitebait population", which he attributed to habitat restoration in lowland areas such as Ngaruroro, Tukituki and Tutaekuri wetland and riparian areas.
He said the regional council and DoC worked closely together to ensure whitebait habitat is protected.
"This includes simple measures such as ensuring egg-laying grass habitat alongside rivers and streams isn't mown, for example. Or checking culverts are fish friendly so that whitebait species are able to migrate up our streams.
"While there's always work to do in terms of riparian and wetland whitebait habitat here in the Hawke's Bay, we believe that good progress is being made in understanding what good whitebait habitat depends on."
He said this work was reflected in good whitebait fishing.
DoC would continue to monitor the situation and work to maintain the mouth opening with the council if that became necessary, he said.
Rewcastle confirmed DoC had requested that when the Tukituki River mouth closes, it is reopened in the middle of the lagoon to allow whitebait to access both sides of the river, giving fishers on both sides "a fair chance".
