Freshwater fish are treasured throughout Aotearoa New Zealand’s history, from intrepid tuna (eels) to introduced trout and salmon, to the whitebait that draws fishers back to river mouths every year.
However, our management of freshwater ecosystems and fisheries has not always matched how important freshwater fish are to New Zealanders. As a result, most of our native freshwater fish species, and even some valued introduced species, are now under threat. It has become harder for fishers to harvest freshwater species, so that what was once a regular part of life is now an occasional treat – or has been replaced by the supermarket. Customary fishers are impacted by declining fish numbers and restrictions on where they can fish, while some threatened species are still being harvested for commercial markets.
Fish Futures researchers Kiely McFarlane, Ailsa Cain and Marc Tadaki have unpacked New Zealand’s history of freshwater fish management to understand why we are in this situation today. They created six policy briefs, each of which focuses on a key issue facing freshwater fish, how it developed over time, and what it means for freshwater ecosystems, fisheries and the people who value them:
1 | Management of freshwater fish species
2 | Identities of freshwater fishers
3 | Changing land use and freshwater fish
4 | Access to freshwater fishing
5 | Harvesting and consuming freshwater fish
6 | Markets for freshwater fish
The briefs show how past decisions led to today’s fragmented, unjust and unsustainable fish management. They aim to help us learn from these mistakes and identify what needs to change. Each brief ends with recommendations on key considerations and actions for improving the future of freshwater fish in Aotearoa New Zealand.
E ai ki te whakataukī:
kia whakatōmuri te haere whakamua.
I walk backwards into the future with my eyes fixed on my past.
This proverb expresses Māori perspectives of time, where the past, present and future are viewed as intertwined and the past is carried into the future.