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River Notes Aotearoa

an independent guide to New Zealand rivers and the outdoors

Freshwater life

Whio, native fish and the small things that keep a river healthy.

What lives in a river says a lot about its health. These notes cover the animals people most often ask about, and the everyday care that keeps pests and pollution out of the water.

  1. National · any river you visitLooking after a river you useCheck, Clean, Dry, toileting and campsites, weeds on the banks, and how ordinary river users can help keep track of a river’s health.
  2. National · rivers, streams and wetlandsNew Zealand’s native freshwater fishGalaxiids, bullies, eels, lamprey and the fish behind the whitebait catch. Who lives in our rivers, why so many of them need the sea, and why culverts matter.
  3. North and South Islands · headwater riversWhio: the blue duck of fast riversWhio live year-round on fast, clean mountain rivers and nowhere else in the world. Why they need that water, what threatens them, and what to do when you meet a pair.