The salmon population in the Waitaki River could be bouncing back if an unofficial gauge used by Central South Island Fish and Game officer Graeme Hughes is any indication.
Fish and Game staff have been rescuing fish from the Morven-Glenavy-Ikawai irrigation scheme on the north bank of the river - an annual operation when the races are shut down for the winter.
This year, Mr Hughes had noticed a dramatic increase in the number of juvenile salmon rescued.
The operation was completed this week with the fish transferred to the Waitaki River.
"The number of juvenile salmon picked up would be ten times that of previous years," Mr Hughes said yesterday.
"That's a good thing and indicates the salmon population [in the Waitaki] may be picking up."
About 70% of the estimated 400 rescued fish were juvenile salmon, he said.
In the 1980s and 1990s, when salmon numbers in the river were low, hardly any salmon juveniles were found in the irrigation races.
The results of the operation reflect the numbers of salmon caught by anglers in the past season, which has been described as one of the best for about a decade.
