Canterbury drought leads to fishy rescue

Canterbury drought leads to fishy rescue

Fish and Game have spent the day rescuing stranded trout and native eels from dried-up rivers north of Christchurch.

The extended spell of hot, dry weather and a lack of any rainfall are having a huge impact on the Canterbury waterways.

It's a job Fish and Game officers usually carry out at the peak of summer. But desperately low river levels mean that in the last month of autumn, they're donning their waders and carrying their nets to rescue fish from the Ashley River near Rangiora.

"We've had reports from members of the public just from walking their dogs that there's fish stuck in this pool," says Steve Terry, Fish and Game officer.

"We've got an electric fishing machine that sends out a pulse and it basically draws the fish out from under the debris."

The drop in the level of flowing water has left the fish with nowhere to go. They're trapped in pools of warm water and if the water level continues to fall, they'll die.

"We are actually so concerned about the state of some of these fisheries we've introduced a winter closure downstream of State Highway 1," says Fish and Gamer officer Tony Hawker.

Keen angler Mark Rodgers isn't surprised a rescue is taking place this late in the season. He says it's been a pretty average autumn for fishermen in the rivers.

"A lot of guys are really concerned about the low flows. Hopefully we get some rain this week. That would help a great deal," he says.

"It limited fishing water this month in north Canterbury."

Today's rescue netted 20 trout and a dozen eels -- all saved and released in to some more permanent flowing water.

Newshub.