Central South Island Fish and Game officer Graeme Hughes releases trout into ponds at the Ladybird Hill Vineyard and Restaurant, Omarama, on Tuesday, watched by pupils from Omarama School.
The trout, weighing about 1kg, were supplied by the Central South Island Fish and Game Council to the Ladybird Hill Vineyard and Restaurant to restock ponds which had been cleaned and landscaped as part of redevelopment of the complex.
They are expected to grow to between 6kg and 7kg within the next two years and are for display purposes only.
People can see and feed them - but there is strictly "no fishing", restaurant and vineyard co-owner Rodger Smaill said.
The area is renowned for its fishing, particularly in Lake Benmore and the Ahuriri and Tekapo Rivers.
A permit was needed from the fish and game council to hold the sports fish and was the first one granted in the Central South Island region.
