Submission against a non-notified hearing re Southland Rivers
The Federation submitted to both the Gore and Southland District Councils in support of submissions by member Clubs in the region last year. We submitted that the consent should have been notified; a basic democratic principle. The NZFFA felt that it would be inconsistent not to continue that support. The Southland rivers, normally, have much smaller flows than the Tongariro and are not really comparable in the up-river areas that are fished (and are the cause of prime concern). Also the trout in the Southland rivers are primarily resident fish above Gore/Mataura. The fish that are targeted in the Tongariro are Taupo fish using the river as “a highway to heaven”. After their reproductive urges are slated most return to the lake to recover. The Southland rivers are their Taupo with the reproduction occurring in their tributaries.