Freshwater

New Zealand has just over 50 native freshwater fish species. Of these, 85 % are endemic and 75 % are deemed to be at risk of decline or are threatened.

Our highest elevation site at 2128 m, Mt Potts is also one our sites very exposed to wind.

The Upper Rakaia SIN site is located at 1752 m on a north facing slope in the Jollie Range. Records start in 2010.

The Albert Burn SIN site is located at 1280 m in the upper Albert Burn valley, east of Mt Aspiring/Tititea. Records start in 2012.

The Ivory Glacier SIN site is located at 1390 m next to Ivory Lake, west of the main divide of the Southern Alps/ Kā Tiritiri Te Moana.

A four-year research programme focused on the co-management and restoration of our freshwater taonga species.

In collaboration with the University of Waikato, the CKS team has also supported students and scholarship interns through a variety of practical experiences.

NIWA is asking people in flood-affected areas to contribute photos to a national database to support understanding of flood hazard and flood risk.

This programme developed approaches to enable the recognition and prioritisation of cultural keystone species (CKS) in co-management, restoration and monitoring to help sustain the social, economic and ecological health and wellbeing of Aotearoa-New Zealand’s freshwater ecosystems.

New ways to communicate the state and trends of taonga populations.

Protection of the Awa Models enable us to predict how different uses of the land and water will impact river and stream health.

NIWA is developing a national river flow forecasting tool for New Zealand that aims to support and strengthen our planning for and response to extreme rainfall events.