Media release from Eastern Fish & Game
Web news video - a fish eye view
Eastern Fish & Game staff have got up close and personal with some of the region’s world-renowned trout fisheries, completing a drift
dive in the Tarawera River this week.
The underwater survey features wetsuit-clad snorkel-equipped officers swimming down river in formation, counting trout
as they go.
With the spawning season peaking in the next two months, Eastern Fish & Game officer Matt Osborne said it was an ideal time to check out the stretch of water from the Lake Tarawera outlet
into the main river body.
“We’ve got a slightly lower count than we saw last year but we’ve had severe drought conditions which has affected the
number of fish in there at present,” Mr Osborne said. “We can compare the fish counts to previous years and we’ve got
this data going back over a long period. It really does help us to know how many fish are likely to be produced out in
the lakes.”
Nearly all Eastern Region fisheries remain open until the end of June, when some upper reaches of rivers close to
protect spawning trout and some lakes close to boat-based fishing. This gives fish a chance to grow and be in high
numbers for the spring opening.
Local regulations can be found on the Fish & Game website: http://fishing.fishandgame.org.nz/content/freshwater-fishing-regulations.
Please find a news video from Eastern Fish & Game at the following link: