Fish saved as river dries up
A vanishing Canterbury river became the scene of an urgent rescue mission on Tuesday.
Thousands of fish had to be rescued from the Selwyn River, but some could not be saved as the waterway dried up around them while they tried to swim for safety.
Environment Canterbury (Ecan) asked for volunteers to help rescue eels and fish, which had become stranded in puddles while headed for Lake Ellesmere.
About 40 volunteers arrived at 9am, starting at the once-popular swimming hole Coes Ford, which last week dried up for the first time in recent memory.
They walked down the river with nets, looking for fading puddles filled with eels and fish. About 2500 fish and 500 eels were rescued throughout the day, an Ecan spokeswoman said.
Volunteers were joined by Ecan and Department of Conservation staff, along with members of Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu.
Parts of the Selwyn River are dry for much of the year, but stretches that did not typically dry up have done so this summer.
Among the river’s wildlife are endangered longfin eels, which swim down the river to Lake Ellesmere and escape to sea where they breed at the end of their lives.
After it rains the river briefly reappears, but the water disappears so quickly some get stuck in puddles, where they are left to die unless they can be saved.
Local Mike Glover went down to the river to help.
‘‘It was pretty horrible. Even as we were there, the pools were starting to shrink,’’ he said.
‘‘As the sun heated up the water, inanga [whitebait] started dying, so there were a lot of dead fish.’’
In the 20 years he had been living near the river, he said he had never seen it dry up this far down and was saddened by its state.
‘‘It’s a slimy kind of mess, a lot of it. The good thing was everyone chipped in and worked at it.’’
The eels and fish that were rescued were relocated to Lake Ellesmere.
Earlier this month, St Anne’s Lagoon near Kaikoura dried-up. About 3000 eels were saved.