Rare Mudfish found near Bulls

MEDIA RELEASE
Tuesday, October 04, 2011

Rare Mudfish found near Bulls

There is something fishy going on in the outskirts of Bulls. In a tributary of the Tutaenui Stream, near the Rangitikei River, Horizons Regional Council have recently confirmed a thriving population of rare Mudfish.

Mudfish are an elongated eel like fish, with reduced fins, which live in wetlands, boggy creeks and drains. Mudfish are on the decline throughout New Zealand due to loss of habitat, caused by extensive draining of wetlands.

“To find such a large, healthy population continuing to thrive on this site was very exciting,” says Horizons Environmental Scientist Carol Nicholson, “Horizons will be looking closely at what can be done to preserve this valuable population.”

“What is unique about the Mudfish is that they have an amazing ability to survive as their habitat dries out over summer,” says Nicholson, “they burrow down beneath debris or old logs to prevent dehydration.”

Horizons Regional Council’s science team organised a survey of the Mudfish population earlier this month to determine the value of carrying out future restoration work. Twenty seven traps were set over night, with 18 large fat mudfish found the next morning. The largest fish caught was 17.5cm long, which is in the upper range of size for this species.

Horizons has put significant effort into sampling rare fish populations particularly in the last year. Continued monitoring of these at risk populations is important to ensure policy is being effective in maintaining their continued survival.

ENDS

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