1Mar 9, 2018
If Te Waikoropūpū Springs can’t be saved, what hope is there for New Zealand’s other aquifers? By Cherie Pascoe. You can submit to extend the protection for Te Waikoropūpū before 14 March 2018: https://action.forestandbird.org.nz/tewaikoropupu/ Nestled in the Tākaka Valley of Golden Bay, between Abel Tasman and Kahurangi National Parks, are the largest coldwater springs in the […]
2Jan 16, 2017
It‘s hard to believe that common native species like whitebait could go extinct. Especially when they seem to be so numerous species and whitebaiters are catching them by the bucket-load every spring all across New Zealand. But the whitebait catch isn’t just made up of of one species, it actually includes five – giant kōkopu, […]
3Oct 5, 2016
If you want to see a badly polluted Canterbury river, take a Sunday drive and have a look at the Selwyn/Waikirikiri River. Just 20 years ago it was clear and swimmable. But now it has become a cess pit, destroyed by run-off from intensive farming and toxic algae. To highlight the ruin of this once […]
4Jul 7, 2016
The future of New Zealand’s endemic longfin eel is in serious jeopardy. In April 2013, the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment stated in no uncertain terms that: “It is critical that we stop fishing longfin eels. It is not just fishing that is the problem, but stopping it is the only action that has immediate […]
5Dec 18, 2015
Internationally important wetlands are being polluted in the Waikato, as Al Fleming, Forest & Bird’s Central North Island Regional Manager, explains. New Zealand’s wetlands can be described as the “lungs” of land and water and support a greater diversity of native birds, fish, invertebrates and plants than most other habitats. But the Waikato River’s lungs, which are made up of […]
6Nov 7, 2013
If the directions had just said “Turn off State Highway 4 and drive to the very end of Oio Road” I would have got there much sooner. Our small convoy of cars lost touch with other, one went up and down State Highway 4 looking for Oio Rd, another was going up and down Oio […]
7Jun 14, 2013
The Mackenzie Country is for many of us one of the reasons why we love this country so much. But those of us who have been there recently will know that it’s also a part of New Zealand that’s disappearing fast. The Mackenzie is being turned from a hundred shades of brown – which looks […]
8Jun 12, 2013
While we head for the indoors as the weather grows colder and wetter, a secretive, eel-like little fish is gearing up for its busiest time of year. The remarkable brown mudfish is one of five mudfish species that are all unique to New Zealand. They are small (up to around 15cm), long and skinny and […]
9May 17, 2013
In lakes, rivers and estuaries throughout New Zealand, groups of aquatic flying carpets are mobilising and moving downstream towards the sea. Late autumn marks the time when a special species of New Zealand flatfish – the freshwater black flounder or patiki – embarks upon a spawning migration to the sea, with juveniles re-entering freshwater and […]