Freshwater fish

As a young child growing up on an Irish farm, one of Eimear Egan’s chores was to regularly clean out the well from where her family drew its drinking water. In the well lived a large eel that, no matter how many times it was shifted, just kept coming back.

We have prepared a breakdown of the different guidelines that are available for sampling freshwater fisheries. The overview provides links to key documents that explain what should be considered when designing fish monitoring studies and how to implement the various sampling techniques.

Learn how to use the New Zealand Freshwater Fish Database (NZFFD)

Banded kōkopu juveniles are very good climbers and will try to escape from buckets by clinging to and wriggling up the sides.

The largest member of the Galaxiidae family.

Inanga are the predominant species in the modern whitebait fishery.

Grey mullet have a worldwide distribution and Aotearoa is at the southern limit of their range.

Kōaro are excellent climbers and like clear, swiftly flowing, forested streams.

Has a receding lower jaw and black spots behind the head.

Smelt have a distinctly forked tail and a strong cucumber smell.

NIWA is leading a new six-year research project that seeks to increase our understanding of piharau/kanakana/lamprey, using Mātauranga Māori, social science and biophysical science approaches.