Low flows harming fishery, guide says

The Hakataramea River's world-class reputation for fishing is declining and could be killed forever by more irrigation, Omarama fishing guide and angler Wayne Grafton warns.

He was putting his views yesterday to an Environment Canterbury hearings panel considering nine applications from farmers in the Hakataramea catchment to take more water for irrigation.

Mr Grafton, who has fished the Hakataramea River since 1976, was giving evidence on behalf of the Central South Island Fish and Game Council, which opposes granting resource consents for new irrigation under the terms applied for.

He noted a decline in water quality and flows in the river's lower reaches, hitting its reputation as a world-class fishery.

"My clients used to request they fish the Haka. Not now."

This decline was due to a lack of water throughout the year.

During the past eight years, the quality and quantity of fish had declined.

When he became a guide in 1999, anglers were hooking 60 or more fish over two rods in a day, but last year, his best day netted just eight fish.

Before 2004, he would guide on the river until mid-January.

Now it was until the third week of November.

"If the flow is reduced further, then this river will be lost," he said.

Fish and game officer Mark Webb said the Hakataramea catchment contained chinook salmon, brook char, rainbow and brown trout.

"It is likely to be the only New Zealand river with such a salmonoid assemblage," he said.

The river was renowned for its rainbow trout in the upper reaches, particularly early in the season.

The Hakataramea River was important, not only to maintain the trout stocks of the lower Waitaki River, but also for salmon spawning.

In the 16 years for which salmon spawning surveys were available, flows in March and April appeared to have a significant effect on numbers in the Hakataramea River.

"In four of the last eight years, the Hakataramea salmon run has not exceeded 30 fish and equates to one 200th of the run size of less than 10 years earlier," he said.

Mr Webb said low river flows over the last 15 years caused by more irrigation had contributed to the decline of salmon spawning in the river.

During that time, there had been a four-fold increase in low flows in March and April.

Fish and game officer Graeme Hughes said proposals for more irrigation in the Hakataramea catchment would aggravate the problem.

Mr Hughes also had a similar warning about the Maerewhenua River which, while not as well known, was still a major attraction for anglers.

During summer both rivers were under increasing pressure from irrigation demands and some reaches dried out.

Mr Hughes said during the last fishing season more than 8000 juvenile fish - both salmon and trout - and 50 large trout up to 2.7kg had to be rescued from dry sections of the Hakataramea River.

Large numbers of smaller fish perished or were eaten by birds.