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Taking aim to
lower koi numbers
NEW ZEALAND BOW HUNTERS DID THEIR PART IN
HELPING TO CONTROL KOI CARP IN THE WAIKATO RIVER
RECENTLY WHEN THEY HELD THEIR KOI CARP CLASSIC
FOR THE 25TH TIME.
The Waikato River Authority helped sponsor this year’s competition.
Event organiser Allan Metcalfe says more than four tonnes of carp were
pulled from river during the event held with koi being shot with bow and
reel-attached arrows in waterways around the Huntly area. The largest fish
shot during the competition was 8.5 kilograms.
About 60 hunters took part in the event with some coming from Australia
and as far away as Germany.
The koi carp is a major pest fish in the lower Waikato River.
Waikato River Authority board members were able to inspect the
upper Waikato River below the Aratiatia power station coinciding
with the Authority’s AGM held in Wairakei.
THE WAIKATO RIVER AUTHORITY HELD
ITS 4TH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
THIS YEAR AND FOR THE FIRST TIME
OUTSIDE HAMILTON AT WAIRAKEI.
Moving the meeting to another part of the Waikato
River enabled local iwi and the wider community an
opportunity to attend the AGM.
Holding the AGM at Wairakei also meant the Waikato
River Authority board were able to have a close-up
look at the river in its upper reaches. The board
were able to see the river for several kilometres by
jet boat downstream from the Aratiatia rapids and
power station.
In the past 24 months the Authority board has
carried out field trips on the lower Waikato River,
the Waipa River Catchment and now the upper river.
Event organiser Allan Metcalfe with his catch from the Annual Koi Carp Classic
AGM
and fieldtrip
Continued from page 1
Tukoroirangi Morgan says the Authority’s strategic focus has
been on the Upper Waipa and the Lower Waikato this year.
“Clearly the Waipa has benefitted from significant funding this
year but it is an area with significant need. Improvements from
clean-up and restoration in this catchment will also have a
direct effect on the lower Waikato River,” says Mr Morgan.
The $6,065,737 of funding will see 23 projects receive over
$50,000 and ten projects under that level. The smallest
project to be funded is one being undertaken by the
Mangakotukutuku Stream Care Group in Hamilton for riparian
planting which received $9,500.