Suggestions that marine protected areas could help manage possible future conflicts between fishers and sea lions need to be acted on, Forest and Bird Otago Southland conservation officer Sue Maturin says.
Three trout wait for a flush of water to continue up the temporary diversion channel beside the Water of Leith, in Dunedin, yesterday. Fish and Game will be keeping a close eye on trout to ensure they are not getting stranded in the channel, operations manager Ian Hadland says.
Despite earlier predictions of a wet new year, Otago is now expected to have a mostly dry but possibly cooler start to 2013.
People outraged Dunedin City's official temperature for Christmas Day was only 21degC need to be aware the figure is only ''spot data'', the MetService says.
A grey day did not stop a group of Dunedin women from kicking up their heels, 1920s style, at the Wingatui Boxing Day races yesterday.
Senior Station Officer Bob Calder does a ''Christmas favour'' for a grateful Joshua Rogan, retrieving his remote-controlled model plane from the trees lining Littlebourne, in Dunedin, yesterday.
One came earlier than expected, the other late, but both provided their parents with a special Christmas surprise.
Dunedin's ageing electricity cables are to be upgraded as part of a $20 million programme by Delta.
Nearly 20 people have drowned in Otago and Southland this year - six more than last year.
There could be up to 1000 New Zealand sea lions feeding offshore from Otago by 2040 - all competing with recreational and commercial fishermen for fish.
A sunny Otago Christmas Day is predicted. The MetService is forecasting a fine day for the region, with temperatures ranging from 23degC in Dunedin and 27degC at the airport, to 28degC in Queenstown and 30degC in Wanaka.
Another two Hector's dolphins have been found dead in the Blueskin Bay area this week.
A $396,000 grant from New Zealand Lotteries has proved a real boost for Mosgiel RSA's redevelopment plans.
Project Kereru's Nic Hurring, (left) SPCA Otago executive officer Sophie McSkimming and SPCA vet nurse and animal attendant Lisa Gerard release wood pigeons (kereru) on the SPCA's grounds at Opoho this week.
The Otago Regional Council will seek to keep important freshwater monitoring sites going if Niwa discontinues them. Niwa had reviewed its monitoring operations and was making changes to enable its ''expertise and capabilities'' to be used to the country's ''best advantage'', Niwa general manager strategy Dr Bryce Cooper said.
A study has been commissioned to find a long-term solution to the problem of Hoopers Inlet blocking.
A new multiresetting system aimed at killing the stoats that prey on New Zealand's native species is to be trialled in West Otago's Blue Mountains.
The Otago Regional Council's new chief executive has pronounced the local body to be in ''good heart''.
Requiring councils to perform in a way that is ''most cost-effective for households and businesses'' could see local bodies challenged in court for not taking the cheapest option, the Otago Regional Council says.
The discovery of a dog and its pups abandoned without shade or water in Kaikorai Valley, Dunedin, recently has created a mystery the SPCA would like to solve.
