Waiau River - photos of Whitebaiting and the river mouth in decades past

Shared by Central & Western Murihiku Southland Archive

Whitebaiting, Waiau River and Waiau Mouth. This is what the whitebaiting scene at the Waiau River looked like in 'the season', many years ago now. This series of images, recently donated to the Community Archive, are being used to commemorate the new 2024 Whitebaiting season, starting on 1 September. We wish all whitebaiters on our river a safe, successful season. IMAGES: Photo 1 - whitebaiting on the Waiau River at the mouth, in days past Photo 2 - some of the whitebaiting caravans parked up at Waiau River Photos 3 - scenes of the Waiau River at the Waiau mouth in days past Photographs by Ron McDowell & kindly donated to CWA. Licensed CC BY WHITEBAIT: The Department of Conservation or DOC, summarises what we know as 'Whitebait, as being, "the juveniles of six species of fish, five of which are migratory galaxiids: inanga, banded kōkopu, giant kōkopu, kōaro and shortjaw kōkopu. The sixth species is common smelt." Doc further inform us that the whitebait caught locally from the Waiau River, are predominantly inanga. These are "found in a wide variety of habitats, from tiny creeks, to coastal rivers, lowland streams, lakes and wetlands." Inanga are small and most only survive a year or so, reaching about 100mm in length – the longest one found on record, was 190 mm. "Because they are poor climbers, inanga are usually found near the coast. Their silvery belly and somewhat forked tail make them easy to distinguish. Found in places as far flung as Chile, Australia and Argentina, inanga are the most widely distributed native freshwater fish in the world," records DOC. They are also Aotearoa New Zealand’s most commonly caught species of whitebait. But as well as this, their population is in decline. Almost all of the Whitebait species are either in decline or threatened, hence new restrictions on catching them. If we want future generations to be able to carry on our tradition of whitebaiting, we need to preserve this previous taonga/treasure. Whitebaiting is a favourite cherished sport and time-honoured tradition in many parts of the country, and especially at the Waiau River Mouth. Local's have whitebaited here for generations, and can tell tales of times when the beach stretched all the way along Bluecliffs, with road access and parking. In recent times the Waiau Mouth has eroded into the sea, taking a lot of land with it, forever changing the landscape of the river mouth and whitebaiting. But the landscape at the Waiau Mouth is not the only thing that has now changed. To help protect these taonga or treasured fish species and their habitats for the future, there is now a shorter season and more set rules. For 2024 on the Waiau River in Western Murihiku Southland, the season runs between September 1 and October 30, with whitebaiting only permitted on those days between 5am to 8pm, or 6am to 9pm during daylight savings. Now, each person can only have one whitebait net operating at any given time, and this must be attended at all times. The mouth of the net is not allowed to be wider than 4.5 meters. Also, you cannot fish by structures like bridges, culverts, even river junctions. This is to protect these vulnerable fish stocks. If everyone follows the rules, we can all help maintain a healthy river ecosystem, and ensure that whitebait can continue to thrive for the future. The new regulations which have recently been put into place, are being enforced in a joint effort between Police and DoC. All whitebaiters were notified and encouraged to educate themselves on the rules and regulations ahead of the 2024 season, which kicks off today, 1 September 2024. It was pleasing to read in a recent news article, that a patrol of the Waiau River in an effort to ensure adherence to the new regulations, this being undertaken in late August 2024, there were no reported violations of early whitebaiting. WAIAU TRUST WHITEBAIT HABITAT: This project has a focus on the creation of rearing habitats for whitebait, which in turn, helps a diverse range of wildlife which reside or migrate to this coastal environment. According to the Waiau Trust's website (see more in Place Notes), "Adult fish spawn in vegetation at the margins of tidal wetlands and streams, during spring tides in the months of February to April. The fertilised eggs are washed to sea on the next spring tide and the hatch or “bait” return to freshwater from August to November of each year. They then inhabit small watercourses and wetlands in the coastal and lowland reaches of river systems, where they grow to maturity, reaching 80mm over 1-2 years and begin the cycle all over again. The incoming juvenile fish are the basis of the NZ whitebait fishery. The reason behind the Waiau Trust's work on creating wetland habitats here, is that the reduced flow of the Waiau River, the progressive development of low lying land for agriculture, the ongoing drainage of wetlands in tidal areas and the widespread modification of lowland streams, have all dramatically reduced rearing habitats for whitebait, and other species. Spawning habitats have been affected by land use change and stock trampling and grazing. It is of note that the initial work of the Waiau Trust here had been undertaken between 1998 and 2008. But more wetland restoration has continued since that date, including another 10ha of new open water wetlands, connected to the Waiau Lagoon in 2009. Another 10ha of open water wetlands were also built in 2012. Further to this, the Trust has been surveying inanga and short-finned eel colonisation of wetlands and bird species using the new habitats. HISTORY OF THE WAIAU RIVER MOUTH: The Waiau Mouth or just "The Mouth" as it is often referred to by locals, has a rich fishing history and is of great importance to our local district. Most local families have stories of visits to the mouth, for a days outing or fishing trips. There are now generations of southerners who have fished and gathered kai or food here, both colonist pioneers and their descendants, also those from long before European settlement. Its now considered part of life', and one of the drawcards for local residents and visiting crib owners alike. Just how vital the Waiau was to Māori is clearly presented in the Ngai Tahu Settlement of 16 October 1998 in attachment 12.90A, of the Deed of Recognition for Waiau River, Southland. The deed articles include the following quotes: "Numerous archaeological sites and wahi taonga attest to the history of occupation and use of the river. These are places holding the memories, traditions, victories and defeats of Ngai Tahu tupuna. The main nohoanga (occupation site) on the Waiau was at the mouth and was called Te Tua a Hatu. The rangatira (chief) Te Wae Wae had his kainga nohoanga on the left bank of the Waiau River mouth. [NOTE: known as Te Waewae Bay to this day]. The Waiau, which once had the second largest flow of any river in New Zealand, had a huge influence on the lives and seasonal patterns of the people of Murihiku, over many generations. The river was a major mahinga kai: aruhe (fernroot), ti root, fish, tuna (eels), shellfish and tutu were gathered in the summer, a range of fish were caught in the autumn, kanakana (lamprey) were caught in the spring, while the people were largely reliant during winter on foods gathered and preserved earlier in the year. Rauri (reserves) were applied to the mahinga kai resources, so that people from one hapu or whanau never gathered kai from areas of another hapu or whanau. Some 200 species of plants and animals were utilised by Ngai Tahu as a food resource in and near the Waiau. The tupuna had considerable knowledge of whakapapa, traditional trails and tauranga waka, places for gathering kai and other taonga, ways in which to use the resources of the Waiau, the relationship of people with the river and their dependence on it, and tikanga for the proper and sustainable utilisation of resources. All of these values remain important to Ngai Tahu today." Fishing of all kinds, including the ever popular whitebaiting, still takes place here, and many a visitor travels to the spot specifically to get a catch or the locals set up to fish for the sheer fun of it or to feed the family. But the mouth is changeable and often moves. Along from the mouth itself land has been eroding away for a long time, as the gravel bar builds up and moves the mouth around. Recently, both in late 2023 and again in early 2024, there was a large loss of land at the Waiau River Mouth, affecting the settlement there. It is of no comfort to those affected by it that this appears to be an old issue, according to the below and other recorded history of the changing river mouth, long before human intervention. James McKerrow early explorer of the district in 1862, has this to say, "The beach for several miles on both sides of the Waiau is covered with a deep bed of shingle which has evidently been bought down by the river to the sea and thrown back on the beach. The long narrow fresh water lagoons, enclosed between these shingle deposits and the original coastline show that the Waiau in its never-ceasing conflict with the ocean has had to shift its mouth many miles backwards and forwards along the coast." Local Murihiku Southland historian Lloyd Esler also writes in 'About the South's on 26 May 2023 that, "The Waiau river mouth is changeable, sometimes isolating a long lagoon and other times flowing through the lagoon to discharge four kilometres to the east or three to the west. In either case the river lacks the broad estuary that defines the three other major river mouths in Southland – the Oreti River at New River Estuary, Aparima River at Jacob’s River Estuary and the Mataura River at Fortrose. The steepness of the beach at the river mouth, the changeable nature of the mouth and the low bar leave fishermen vulnerable to unexpected waves. One tradition holds that in the 1820s a party of Māori were struck by a large wave, possibly a tsunami, which drowned several. Ironically, following the reduction in the volume of the river after diversion of most of the water to Doubtful Sound, flooding increased at the mouth. The McCrackens experienced more floods and eventually sold their low-lying land to be converted to wildlife habitat. Lacking the force to punch new channels through the gravel bar at the river mouth, the water instead ponded, formed lagoons, and raised the water table on the low-lying land just upstream from the mouth." Lloyd continues the above account in his latest regional history book 'West to the Waiau', with the words, "Predictable? Possibly. Unwelcome? Certainly. In 2023 the bar breached opposite the roadend where 18 houses sit on a terrace. Wave action has chewed away at the road and exposed the underlying strata of consolidated sand topped with several metres of course river pebbles." Especially as the whole coastline and mouth of the river has changed so much now, historical photos such as these are of vital importance to record history. We will also be entering more of the past and earlier history as well as current accounts of the issues of land loss at the Waiau Mouth over the next while, into these community archives, as part of our Waiau River project. If you can help provide information or especially a photographic record of any of this, please contact us. Hopefully this entry will be added to as more information comes to hand. If you or anyone you know has any more information or photos to share or accounts of white baiting over the years or the Waiau River Mouth above, please do share this with us in the comments section. You can do this by making a comment in the space provided under the image page. Or you can make contact with us as per the archive front page.