Freshwater

Various industries and land use activities have the potential to impact on water quality and mahinga kai unless properly managed.

Damming water for urban use, hydro-electric power generation, irrigation, and other industrial and commercial uses.

How do agricultural activities potentially influence water flows?

Tuna or freshwater eels are a very significant, widely-valued, heavily-exploited, culturally iconic mahinga kai resource.

How may the activities of the mining industry influence water resources?

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.

Submerged plants have a number of advantages that favour their use as indicators of lake ecological condition.

Links to related resources and websites

Find out more about our water quality tools.

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.

Mining is the extraction of metal and mineral resources, such as gold, coal, petroleum, and ironsand

What are the impacts of water dams on water quality and mahinga kai?