A new wetland project near the Rakaia River in Mid Canterbury hopes to help bring salmon back to the river.
The project costs $1.7 million and includes $784,000 of public money from the Ministry for the Environment. It will restore part of Glenariffe Stream, an important salmon-spawning waterway that had been diverted for farmland for about 70 years. In the past, this stream helped produce around 18 percent of the wild chinook salmon that returned to spawn in the Rakaia River.
The Rakaia River was once famous around the world for its strong sea-run chinook salmon population, but salmon numbers have fallen sharply. Three large high country farms have now stopped farming on hundreds of hectares so the river’s eastern branch can return closer to its natural path. As part of the work, 44 hectares of wetland habitat have also been restored. Fish and Game, which is leading the project, says protecting spawning areas is one of the few ways left to support the struggling fishery.
Project manager Steve Terry said salmon numbers are very low across Canterbury and other East Coast rivers because of warmer and less helpful ocean conditions. He explained that people cannot control the ocean or the climate, but they can improve the places where salmon lay eggs. He said restoring Glenariffe Stream is a major step forward because it is one of the river’s most important spawning tributaries. The project is called the McIntyre Wetland Project after James McIntyre, who left $550,000 to support it.
