Local whitebaiters look set for a bumper catch as the season kicks off on Saturday.
Hawke's Bay Regional Council and the local Department of Conservation (DOC) have been working together to boost the whitebait population before the season begins.
Work has gone into fencing and planting rivers and protecting egg sites. A 15ha wetland in the Waitangi regional park has also been constructed which is an ideal habitat for inanga, one of the main whitebait species.
"An overall increase in catch rates may be a good indication that the adult populations are recovering," Dan Fake Regional Council Freshwater Ecologist said.
"Talking with whitebaiters that have been fishing since the 80s, catches in the Bay have dramatically improved in recent years. It may well be that all the good work that has been done is paying off," ex DOC ranger Hans Rook said.