Pesky catfish in their sights
What do you do with 3557 catfish pulled out of Lake Taupo¯ ?
An organic farm in Tu¯ rangi turns them into fertiliser.
Some 330 spearfishers descended on Tu¯ rangi to put their Hawaiian slingshot skills to the test and to rid the lake of a pest at the Rosemergy Catfish Cull. Ripple Action NZ club captain and Wellington diesel mechanic Alwyn Harrison said about a third of the spearfishers came from Wellington, with the rest from the Far North and Coromandel. Ripple Action NZ members are keen to develop and support breath hold (apnoea) spear fishing as a sport. Members use a range of spear fishing methods and because they find catfish relatively easy to hunt, they used the Hawaiian slingshot, a short piece of wood that functions much like a bow and arrow.
The 330 competitors made mincemeat of the previous haul of 2600 catfish speared in 2019.
“There were a lot more catfish speared this year, but there were also a lot more divers. Unfortunately I think we hardly dented the catfish population in Lake Taupo¯ ,” says Alwyn.
This is the third year Ripple Action NZ has held the competition, and Alwyn says those taking part are a few committed divers.
“They love spear fishing, hate catfish and want to raise funds to support Apnoea spear fishing competitors so they can compete overseas. This is the only Hawaiian sling competition in New Zealand at the moment.”
He describes winning pair, Nat Davey and former Olympic swimmer Moss Burmester, who caught 240 catfish, as being “ridiculously fit” and acknowledged fourth placegetters Jennifer Troup and Rochelle Potter’s tally of 113 catfish.
Alwyn says catfish are not hard to spear, so they use a Hawaiian sling to keep it interesting. Catfish habitat is the native weed that grows on the bottom of Lake Taupo¯ . It provides a habitat for a number of native invertebrates, crustaceans and insects. They always find the catfish at the southern end of the lake near Oruatua and Stump Bay.
“We haven’t had the chance to explore the weed in the northern or western part of the lake yet.”
He says the weed near the Tongariro River outlet is particularly thick and long, a place where the catfish like to sleep. “The catfish disturb the native weed and cause it to come away from the bottom of the lake. The weed is destroyed and so is the ecosystem it is supporting.”
Catfish are edible, however each year the catch is turned into fertiliser.
“Usually at a spearfishing competition we raffle off the fish, but we are not set up to do it in Tu¯ rangi.”
Coming from Wellington where his usual spearfishing haunts are the Ka¯ piti Coast and Cook Strait, Alwyn says Lake Taupo¯ is a great place for spearfishing.
“The water is warmer and clearer than I am used to. Catfish are a pest and so it’s an open season and there is no bag limit.”
You just have to watch out for the trout, which are not allowed to be speared.
“When you are in the water, the trout are the biggest thing around and they look so fat.”