Water consultant Dr Richard Allibone yesterday highlighted exciting opportunities to better protect aquatic life, including threatened native galaxiid fish, in the Kye Burn through an innovative habitat management plan.
He commented while giving evidence for Fish and Game Otago on the second day of an Otago Regional Council hearing on water consents under the Resource Management Act.
Dr Allibone, of Dunedin, warmly praised the collaborative approach taken by a group of Kyeburn farmers who over more than 10 years have closely worked together to develop a water group, and a jointly-owned firm, Kyeburn Catchments Ltd (KCL).
The Kye Burn river and its tributaries supported "by far the largest population of Central Otago roundhead galaxias fish in existence", as well as populations of two other threatened native fish: the Taieri flathead galaxias and the longfin eel.
To protect fish and other aquatic life, the minimum residual flow should not fall below 200 litres a second at any of the four water take points on the river, he said.
He urged everyone involved to "have a go" to promote habitat management, and said there was a "huge" opportunity to make environmental gains, given the spirit of collaboration and goodwill.
"We can do something," he added.
He gave his evidence to a consent panel of chairman Trevor Kempton, Andrew Noone and Clive Geddes, which is considering an application involving 16 farmers, all part of KCL, and about 30 deemed water permits.
This involves consent to take surface water for irrigation, storage and stock water.
Cr Kempton suggested to Dr Allibone he was promoting habitat management and "not just throwing water at it and seeing what grows".
Dr Allibone agreed but said "you have to have some water through the stream" to maintain aquatic life.
Support for KCL’s proposals for residual flow levels in the Kye Burn came in Ngai Tahu submissions yesterday from Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu freshwater management senior adviser Matthew Dale, and environmental services firm Kai Tahu ki Otago Ltd principal planner Tim Vial.
Mr Dale said "habitat retention provided for the relevant fish species and life stages" under the KCL proposal was appropriate for their respective "critical values and significance".
This approach would also maintain "an appropriate level of habitat and passage for tuna" but would provide a "balanced outcome" for the instream values of the Kye Burn main stem, he said.
Ngai Tahu and "key stakeholders" had been consulted in developing the KCL proposals, he added.
The deemed permits involved in the hearing were issued for gold mining purposes in the 19th century and must be updated by 2021.
The hearing continues today.
