$49k bill for Masterton eel move

WORTH THEIR WEIGHT: It's been an expensive journey for the Homebush eels.

Masterton ratepayers have shelled out $49,000 to transfer tonnes of eels from the old Homebush sewage treatment ponds to the new ponds.

This has been confirmed by Masterton District Council in the wake of the final payment authorised to Paku & Sons Ltd of $16,999.87 for transferring the last of the eels.

The total project, which took place over two years, was done in conjunction with iwi and involved relocating 44,000 eels, which equates to roughly $1.12 an eel.

Council spokesman Sam Rossiter-Stead said the cost included " migration assessments and health assessments of the eels".

" It has been very successful, with only a very small number of eels not surviving the move and we are grateful to iwi for their work on this," Mr Rossiter-Stead said.

In late 2013 a logistical exercise got underway to begin the transfer of eels from the decommissioned ponds.

Nets were set up in the old ponds at dusk and just before dawn the next day the nets, laden with eels, were hauled to the new pond locations.

It was said then the eels ranged in length from 20cm to 1.2m and in weight from 200g to 3kg.

At a council committee meeting on May 27 chief executive Pim Borren said when transferring the last of the eels to ponds, others were discovered in sludge in the old ponds.

"We managed to save most of them," he said.

The eels are understood to be safe to eat, even though they come from the sewage treatment plant, according to council staff and councillor Simon O'Donoghue.

Eating the eels is not, however, on the council's agenda and it is expected as eels mature they will leave the ponds and begin the journey to Tonga where they breed.

The elver then return to New Zealand, where they mature and the cycle starts again.