Five orchardists fined over illegal water take
Over the past two Kiwifruit seasons, Toi Moana Bay of Plenty Regional Council has prosecuted five orchardists for illegally taking more than 100 million litres of water.
Purpose-built ponds that provide a safe haven for whitebait are being hailed as a success by Bay of Plenty Regional Council staff, following the results of a recent overnight trapping operation.
The trapping confirmed that the newly created habitat on the banks of the Whakatāne River has been very successful – whitebait were found in abundance using the ponds, as were bully, shortfin and longfin eels, juvenile mullet, and triplefins.
The ponds were excavated in autumn 2020 by the council’s rivers and drainage team near the Ferry Road access point. The area surrounding the small, interconnected ponds was then planted with more than 3,000 native plants and shallow areas were created around them to improve possible spawning areas.
They’re connected to the river by small channels to allow tidal fluctuations that regularly refresh the pond system, and have been designed to retain plenty of water, even at low tide. The ponds are located alongside a low-lying wet area that already has good wading bird habitat.
Rivers and drainage operations manager Bruce Crabbe said that these grassed areas within man-made stopbanks are a common sight across Bay of Plenty farming areas.
“This work is part of our move to improve the amenity and better reflect the natural river movements and native habitats that they foster. It is great to see how well this particular spot has worked. From almost the very start we saw small inanga species in the ponds, but there are just so many more now and a wide range of other native species as well. It is a real win,” Crabbe said.
Graduate environmental scientist Erin Bocker worked with Regional Council’s freshwater ecologist, Alistair Suren on the research. She said that the results had “exceeded expectations”.
“We deployed six fyke nets and 12 gee-minnows overnight and found a very healthy population of white bait, but common bully, shortfin and longfin eels, juvenile mullet, and triplefins were using the ponds as well.
“The ponds appear to be successfully acting as a refuge and nursery for a range of fish species and this habitat value will increase further as the plants grow and establish around the ponds.
“It’s an important example of how available fish habitat can be enhanced, while maintaining flood protection. So we [the science team] will continue to monitor this site and others like it to guide future projects,” Bocker said.
The council is asking that people don’t net whitebait or fish in the ponds so the juveniles have a chance to develop.
NZPork has appointed Auckland-based Paul Bucknell as its new chair.
The Government claims to have delivered on its election promise to protect productive farmland from emissions trading scheme (ETS) but red meat farmers aren’t happy.
Foot and Mouth Disease outbreaks could have a detrimental impact on any country's rural sector, as seen in the United Kingdom's 2000 outbreak that saw the compulsory slaughter of over six million animals.
The Ministry for the Environment is joining as a national award sponsor in the Ballance Farm Environment Awards (BFEA from next year).
Kiwis are wasting less of their food than they were two years ago, and this has been enough to push New Zealand’s total household food waste bill lower, the 2025 Rabobank KiwiHarvest Food Waste survey has found.
OPINION: Sir Lockwood Smith has clearly and succinctly defined what academic freedom is all about, the boundaries around it and the responsibility that goes with this privilege.
OPINION: Should cows in NZ be microchipped?
OPINION: Legislation being drafted to bring back the controversial trade of live animal exports by sea is getting stuck in the…