About 200 fish were salvaged yesterday by Fish and Game staff as the Pukaki and Ohau hydro canals were drained this week for inspection.
Fish and Game officer Graeme Hughes said the operation had gone as expected, and there were no emergencies.
The salvaging started at 5am, using electro-fishing and nets.
A helicopter was on stand-by.
The draining is to allow inspection of the gate structure that controls the flow of water into the system from Lake Pukaki.
The canals will be out of operation for five days, from yesterday.
The 12.5km Pukaki canal carries water from Lake Pukaki through to Ohau A power station, above Lake Ruataniwha.
The Ohau canal is connected to the Pukaki canal and carries water from Lake Ohau.
