Back in 2016, Visiting Anglers Sounded Warning Bells

The decline in New Zealand’s trout and salmon fishing has hit the headlines in recent years particularly as regards the Rakaia River issue and Environment Canterbury’s negligence. Here’s an article I wrote in 2016 about a Canadian couple, both keen fly fishers and very perceptive about the decline then. It’s timely to recall the warning then – almost a decade ago –  and to analyse how little has been done since to stem the decline despite NZFFA’s efforts

A Canadian husband and wife fly fishers who regularly visit New Zealand to fish have broken their silence to tell Kiwis to wake up to the accelerating habitat destruction and decline in New Zealand’s trout fisheries.

Dave and Amelia Jensen, a couple of fly fishers from Alberta, Canada expressed initial reluctance to speak out on the visible decline. 

“For far too many years, Amelia and I have been silent on what we have been seeing as we’d rather focus on the positive, the wonderful fly fishing the South Island has to offer,” said Dave.

But with the decline accelerating, the couple now want to speak out.

The reality was that every year the past five years, four or five small tributary streams have been lost to the agriculture industry. The destruction was simply wreaking havoc on both the west and east sides of the South Island. 

“Like it or not, there are severe issues throughout New Zealand,” he said. “As my wife and I have walked over 1000km per year of the tiniest of tributaries throughout the entire Canterbury Region the past decade, we see so many grave issues that the future of trout through the region is in serious peril.”

Dave Jensen questioned whether installing a regulation limiting winter fishing on Canterbury rivers as was recently done, was addressing the real cause of the threat.

“Anglers want to know that managers aren’t simply casting aim at anglers when the extreme habitat issues are far and away the main culprit. Centuries of agriculture with the more recent demands of intensive livestock use for new and varied uses and markets simply aren’t sustainable.”

A once fine trout stream in Marlborough that now runs dry in summer due to pine monocultures sucking up water.

 Anglers not responsible

New Zealand’s fisheries in some regions, with habitat changes and alterations occurring as quickly as was occurring, were rapidly deteriorating.  Anglers were not remotely the main cause of trout stock depletion – It was declining suitable habitat. However where anglers were  was is in collective apathy in allowing extreme habitat change to occur and perpetuate. 

Speaking on the concept of closing waters to winter angling, Dave and Amelia said  that put the “blame” or responsibility on anglers.

“I assure anglers are not the main reason the trout populations are crashing.”

The couple said annually waters were lost to the agriculture industry through dredging, straightening flows, dumping piles of shingle as bank stabilization which was eroded and filled the course with sedimentation, ripping out stream flows and temperature-regulating willow and bush canopies thereby opening the stream to direct sunlight and rapid thermal heating, creation of gravel traps with little monitoring or regulation of operations; and literally moving spring creeks hundreds of metres from their original location.

Stream “nuked’

Dave Jensen said a small stream near Hanmer Springs was “absolutely nuked”  by the land owner with Environment Canterbury’s blessing. Once a fine brown trout stream, it now had been straightened, many willows removed, sedimentation rife and so little water of any depth now existed. 

“This is but one example of an alarmingly long list of streams in the region. Indeed the issue is the entire length of the island. You simply cannot continue to destroy key parts of the life stage habitat requirements of trout and not impact carrying capacity.”  

The rate of increase of numbers of pumps sucking water out at an unprecedented rate, even in extreme droughts as was experienced October to December, 2015 was shocking. 

As to farming, Dave and Amelia said farmers wanted dams and irrigation canals. 

“But, what if they had left their lands with some riparian areas and worked within the boundaries of what the land itself is capable of producing? Much like water has a carrying capacity for trout, a land base naturally has a carrying capacity for growth. It’s patently obvious where the long term is headed in both cases of water and land on the South Island,” said Dave.

“The public should not be deluded by any quality fishing in the high country. Even those

 that only fished the wonderful beech forested, back country waters, needed to pay attention. “

 Serious Trouble

It was wrong to blame anglers for the loss of habitat that was driving trout out of those waters.  The South Island was in serious trouble.

Dave Jensen said the public should not be deluded by any quality fishing in the high country. Even those that only fished the wonderful beech forested, back country waters, needed to pay attention. 

“You simply cannot ignore the connectedness of the high country trout and low country trout – don’t be fooled by your mouse influenced, trophy beech forest trout. These same fish are connected to the lowland stocks.”

With the movement between various waters and to the sea, all habitat has to be considered critical. 

Writing on Wall

“When many of the lowland rivers are devoid of fish sometime this decade, do you not think that the migrating fish numbers to the mountain waters, will not also dwindle? And when the lowland waters are trout free, do you not think the angling pressures on those back country waters will increase? The writing on the wall in front of you. Blaming anglers is not the way.”

There are a vast array of tools fisheries managers could use but when the agriculture industry continued to pound away at habitat, it was an endless losing battle and certainly disheartening for management. 

A change in mindset needed to occur not only in the agriculture industry, but also in the trout fisheries community. Closures would be ineffective without stopping the habitat deterioration. Anglers needed to stand up and be counted in the fight to stop the destruction. Apathy and silence would not win. 

Back in 2000, a North Canterbury Fish and Game environmental officer Wayne McCallum warned of the

 crisis about declining lowland fisheries