3000 Trout Saved At Aviemore

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30569, 12 October 1964, Page 9

3000 Trout Saved At Aviemore

(New Zealand Press Association)

OAMARU, October 11.

More than 3000 trout have been taken out of Deep stream, a tributary of the Waitaki river, just above the dam site at Aviemore. They have not been caught on fly or spinner, but with nets.

There is nothing illegal in the project for it is a sort of Noah’s Ark operation to rescue fish that would not survive the disturbances of their traditional spawning runs. The Waimate Acclimatisation Society, assisted by Ministry of Works staff and a bulldozer, plus a tank-truck, have been busily engaged in recovering the trout.

The bulldozer moved in first to make a miniature coffer dam, then rock barriers were placed'by manpower to form smaller pools and netting began of the fish. They were then transferred to the tanker for transport to safe waters and a further lease of life. The number of trout taken from the stream has surprised even the experts for although this was known to be a main spawning ground for Waitaki

fish, nobody expected such a result. The course of the stream was blocked by the new road leading along the Canterbury bank above the proposed lake level, but the use of suitable large rocks as foundation material had ensured that the stream had continued to flow through the “flll” and thus facilitate the season’s spawning. For Benmore

“This task is a sample of the similar work that will be carried out after the shut-off of the Waitaki river while Benmore is being filled,” said Mr M. Smith, resident engineer at Aviemore and supervisor of the rescue operation there. “However, a larger area will be involved there, of course, stretching down to where the Otematata stream joins the Waitaki.“Although the ‘catch’ may not be as large as the concentration in Deep stream, it will be more scattered.” The same close co-operation between anglers and the Ministry of Works would follow during the Benmore filling, said Mr J. Tait, the project engineer. Every effort would be made to ensure that the fish population and anglers’ rights were preserved.