Canterbury river runs dry, killing trout and eels

Scorching summer temperatures have dried up waterways in a North Canterbury recreational hotspot - the Ashley River - leaving dozens of brown trout, eels and other aquatic life stranded.

Ashley Village resident Ron Cameron and his son Jo alerted Fish & Game to the stranding and helped with the salvage work.

In two small pools just downstream of the Rangiora rail bridge, rescuers found more than 50 good-sized brown trout and dozens of bullies, galaxiids, torrentfish and short-finned eels.

“As many as possible were relocated to areas of continuous flow and cooler water. However, exploring the riverbed found examples where the river had dried up quickly, stranding and killing fish and eels,” Fish and Game said.

The popular fishing spot, which starts in the hills behind Oxford and flows into the sea north of Christchurch, is known to get to low levels during the summer months.

When conditions are right, the Ashley River is known for its brown trout fishing.

Canterbury has had a hot, dry start to the year, with temperatures soaring above 30C last week, and forecasters predicting much of the same for the coming weekend.

Last Thursday, the Mid Canterbury town of Ashburton was the hottest spot in the country, with temperatures reaching 32C.

The warm weather is leaving Fish & Game NZ staff hoping for wetter conditions to help reconnect the Ashley River’s water channels.

“Hopefully, the rain forecast for [today] will reconnect the river and provide relief for all fish in the Ashley River that are hunkering down, avoiding the hot temperatures,” Fish & Game said.

“Whilst some anglers may decry the state of our lowland fisheries, the trout and other fish life that was present in these two small pools on a very small stretch of the Ashley River shows that there are some excellent fish for anglers in rivers like the Ashley.”

By Pierre Nixon