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Home > Archives > Editorials > Editorials 2009
Editorial Archives for 2009
December
November
16.10.2009
John Gibbs, manager of the Tauipo Fishery
 John Gibbs, manager of the Taupo Fishery, at the last Fishing Advisory Council meeting, announced his resignation effective from the 11.12.2009. John has served the Taupo Fishery for more than 40 years. John has managed the fishery since the retirement of Pat Burstall around the time of the re organisation of fishery management to Fish and Game for the rest of New Zealand and Department of Conservation control for the Taupo Fishery in 1990. John has worked through the changes and maintained a wild fishery in difficult times. He has a wealth of knowledge of the Taupo fishery which I hope can be recorded. I found John approachable and willing to discuss fishery issues. We wish John well in his retirement.
I note that Fish and Game are in the process of electing a new council with voting closing today, and that the NZ Freshwater Anglers have 3 areas of concern for their members to consider;
Given that we have different origins and ojectives, we do have a common goal with NZ Freshwater Anglers in their third concern of Access and Waterway protection.
We look forward to our Labour weekend seminar with Jarrod Bowler of Genesis Energy, as our guest speaker. Jarrod is based at Tokaanu Power Station and was their environmental person for some years. This is our opportunity to meet with Jarrod and to ask questions of concern to anglers with a key user of the Tongariro River water.The following advertisement has been circulated to members and placed in public notices in the Taupo Times and Turangi Chronicle. ADVOCATES FOR THE TONGARIRO RIVER INC Next meeting ? Sunday 25 October 2009 at 3.30 pm Tongariro
River Bridge Lodge, SH1, Turangi Members and friends are invited to this meeting Speaker: Jarrod Bowler, Genesis Energy "Ideal long-term management of the Tongariro River by discussing the challenges the river faces.? Following this talk there will be progress reports on (1) riverbank re-vegetation projects and (2) recreational access to the upper river. Eric Wilson PO Box 335 Turangi I am fortunate as a retired Turangi resident to be able to indulge my passion for fishing on an almost daily basis and feel that I have a contribution to make on the state of the fishery at this time. The season started slowly for me and although I have caught fish this year from March onwards (I didn't fish the first 3 months) the season has definitely been later and I am still catching fresh run fish of good quality to the present day. What makes a quality fish for me is the size of the fish, the condition factor though I recognise that this favours smaller sized fish, the fighting quality of the fish and when taken the colour of the flesh. Early in the season my experience was that the fish were not of good quality but I am firmly of the view that quality has improved greatly. I have caught a few fish up to 5lbs of the very best quality. When hooked you know that you have a quality fish, A 5lb fish in any year is a very good fish. 10lb fish are a dream. I have not seen a rainbow trout over 5lb this year but would believe that some have been caught. My average size would be 2.75lbs so the fishery is mending from a few very lean years and still has improvement to make. More importantly, the orange red flesh has returned to most of the fish taken. To get that colour the fish have fed on smelt. Therefore the breakdown in the food chain is in the process of repair. I have fished with a wet line most of the year and to this time have caught only two spent fish. I believe that next year will be a better fishing year for most and that we will have returned to the fishery of a few years ago within another two years.
I wrote in the first editorial of this year that the Integrated Catchment Management Plan would be in place by the end of this year. That will not happen but the parties involved show considerable willingness to have such a plan in place in the near future.I am heartened by this resolve.
Eric Wilson
Secretary/Treasurer
September
 22.8.09
This morning saw the planting of 1000 native plants at the river end of Taupahi Reserve in 1.5 hours by an enthusiastic team of 40.
 The environmental aim of the Advocates is to restore the riparian strip to indigenous vegetation. We have been slowly working from the Major Jones swing bridge toward State Highway 1 bridge on the true left. Any one who walks the track will notice the change.
   Already work is progressing on clearing blackberry, cotoneaster, buddleia and other introduced species from the area of Taupahi reserve and Te Aho reserve. The clearance from both areas has drawn praise from locals and visitors alike.
 We owe thanks to the Corrections Department for their part in doing the hard work of clearing the unwanted plants and for their assistance with planting today alongside the community group.
We also thank the Department of Conservation for their guidance and for felling the exotic trees. The community has been able to remove the wood as firewood and has helped in reducing the amount of material needing to go to the vegetation dump.
 A big thankyou to Mathew Truebridge for his contribution with his no name machine that cleared the land once the trees were felled and left a workable site for the planting today.
 We now have the task to ensure the survival of the plants through the hot summer and keep weed growth checked to allow the plants to grow.
The project at this point has been a great example of community co-operation.
Eric Wilson
Secretary/Treasurer
8.8.09
The Dominion Post front page story on the 6.8.09 is a warning to those who recognise the Tongariro River as an iconic waterway. The article is about the Mohaka River.
Death of a waterwayBy KATHY WEBB - The Dominion PostLast updated 05:00 06/08/2009 
FISH AND GAME
THEN AND NOW: The Mohaka River is a prized
trout fishery, but downstream of its confluence with the Taharua River
it has become murky and covered in algae.
A wilderness river protected by an act of Parliament is being turned into a fouled, murky waterway by intensive dairying, Fish and Game says. Its Hawke's Bay regional manager, Iain Maxwell, says the Mohaka River, protected by a conservation order, has been degrading since intensive dairying began at the head of the Taharua Valley, southeast of Taupo, in the late 1990s. Urine and dung pouring on to paddocks from 9000 dairy cows on several nearby farms was leaching through pumice soils into the Taharua River, which flows into the Mohaka, a nationally prized trout fishery and recreation waterway, Mr Maxwell said yesterday. The Taharua no longer had any fish. The Mohaka was "the central North Island's iconic back country river, with a nationally outstanding trout fishery. It has a protection order on it," he said. "Now it's full of slime and weed and we're powerless to do anything about it. It saddens a lot of people." A video taken by Fish and Game as members drifted down the river shows clear water in the Mohaka above the confluence with the Taharua. At the point where the two rivers begin to mix, the surface is covered by a thick, greenish foam. Downstream, the Mohaka is murky and its bed covered in algae. The November 2004 conservation order protects the river by determining what it can be used for, but it makes no mention of activities alongside the river that might affect it. Hawke's Bay Regional Council can do little to stop dairy effluent leaching from the Taharua Valley farms sponge-like soils because its district plan lacks controls on intensive farming. Its only rules apply to the amount of dairy-shed excrement that can be sprayed on to pasture. Dairy-shed effluent accounts for only 10 per cent of the nitrogen produced by cow dung and urine. The other 90 per cent is dropped directly on to pasture by the animals. The council has no rules regarding the number of animals that can be kept on a farm as long as the effluent-spraying limits are not breached. One of the farms in the area is Taharua Farm, owned by Reporoa brothers Alan and Frank Crafar, who own about 14 farms in the central North Island. Taharua was convicted and fined $37,000 last year for breaching its effluent consents. Last month, the Crafars' firm Hillside Farms was convicted on 34 of 40 charges resulting from the "systemic failure" of an effluent system southwest of Hamilton. A Crafar spokesman said it would not be appropriate to comment until after the release of scientific studies on the Taharua River next month. "There are legal rights and obligations," he said. "We're now asking, `Are those measures enough? If not, we will need to look at what else needs to be done." Fonterra's manager of sustainable production, John Hutchings, said the company worked with any farmer found guilty of "significant non-compliance" to "get it right". The state
of the Mohaka will be raised at a public meeting on water issues and
intensive farming organised by Irrigation NZ in Havelock North tonight. (6.8.09) My reading of the article made me feel that it is important for every waterway to need someone or some body to speak out for it. For this reason alone, such an iconic river as the Tongariro River needs a voice and for that reason I am proud to be a member of Advocates For The Tongariro River and be part of that voice. In the early 1960s when the Tongariro Power scheme was being pushed I know that there was opposition but the voices of opposition were brushed aside with promises that have not been held. Since then the Resource Management Act has been put into the NZ statutes which gives the public voice a fairer hearing although this is again before parliament for further refinement. The Tongariro River needs a strong voice to ensure that such an abuse is brought to the attention of authorities at the earliest point.
Wilding Pines
I have today viewed the TVNZ podcast on the Marlborough Sounds Wilding Pines project. I found the item enlightening and justification for the pines project on the Tongariro River. It is a must for anyone wanting to know about the problem of wilding pines. The podcast has an advertisement followed by a precis of the 30 minute programme before the 8 minutes on the wilding pines.
A great delight for me yesterday was a NZ Falcon stopping in a tree close to the Flying Fox at the tail of the Major Jones pool. I was lucky enough to have my camera and get the following snap.
 Sadly, an article in the Turangi Chronicle explains that the harsh winter we have experienced has impacted on the food supply for both the Falcon (Karearea) and Morepork (Ruru) and that it is a difficult time for these birds.
The planting programme.
We have 1000 plants to be planted on Saturday 22nd August starting at 9.30am. If you are available to assist bring your spade and meet with us on the stopbank at the river end of Taupahi Reserve.
The Trout Fishery
The season, very late, is underway. Fish are on average bigger than the last couple of years with some excellent 5 pounders. The flesh of some fish is an excellent orange colour but it is a bit of a puzzle as to why all fish do not have this colour flesh. The river does have significant numbers of fish at this time.
Didymo
We are Didymo free but every angler must play their part and observe the check clean dry message.
Lake Level
The joint committee is still to announce their decision on the Lake Taupo foreshore flooding and erosion strategy. Many around the lake (including AFTR) are most interested in their decision.
Eric Wilson
Secretary/Treasurer
27.7.09
The river environment is a matter of great interest to the Advocates and to that end we have been involved in restoration of the river margins with an emphasis on the true left between the Major Jones bridge to Te Aho Road reserve. The section from Te Aho reserve to State Highway 1 bridge, we understand is Maori land. We had undertaken before the stopbank was put in to clear and plant in natives the area between the river and Taupehi reserve. This was put on hold while the stopbank was built and recently we again undertook to clear the land and plant. This activity has started and those who walk the aarea will have noticed the clearing work. We have been fortunate to acquire the services of Corrections labour to do this work. Those involved have done a good job todate and we hope that we will be able to get as far as Te Aho reserve this winter and take advantage of the best planting season.
 Work done has prepared most of the area so that planting can begin and now looks like the next photo.
 The nine exotic trees in this area will be felled by DoC before planting commences.
Its good to see the birdlife along the river reserve and the spin off is that the native birds are in the gardens around town. I had the pleasure of a morepork (Ruru) on the lawn during the school holidays.
 I thought it may have been injured but after a little while it flew off into the heighbours tree.
 The Tongariro river was in flood on Friday but was clear for the weekend which has seen a lot of satisfied anglers. I chanced upon Gordon Lawrence with two good sized and conditioned browns which he had caught in the Bridge Pool, probably the best performing pool on the river at this date.
 The Brown trout has been a growing proportion of the fish caught in recent times and raises the question as to whether Brown trout are now in greater numbers in the fishery. It is interesting that the new fishing license (note that there was no increase in the fee which we all expected) has a photo of an angler with a brown trout.
It would seem that anglers are catching fish and that there is a lot more activity by anglers.
Eric Wilson
Secretary/Treasurer
23.6.09
Turangi
Film Premiere
The Angler?s Paradise: A History of the Taupo Fishery Last night I attended the launch of this movie with approximately 150 others. My congratulations to John Ball for an excellent film of the history of the Taupo Fishery. Many of the identities associated with the fishery feature in the film - John Gibbs, fishery manager, and Michel Dedual, DoC fishery scientist, Heather Macdonald, who John Ball thanked for the idea of the film, John Parsons, Rakeipoho Taiaroa, Alpha Cuthbertson, James Flight, Arthur Parish, Alasdair McNab, Bill Grace, Jarod Goedhart, Richard Kemp and many others. This was not a how to catch fish movie nor one of fishing secrets nor of fish. It was a good coverage of the fishery in 3 sections:
It?s worth seeing for anyone at all interested in angling or simply Lake Taupo as a fishery. Other viewings will be at: Taupo Starlight Cinema Auckland Rialto Cinema (09) 369 2417 The DVD of the film is a must for any who are keen on the history of this fishery and its development to the present day. A well recommended addition to your library. DVDs @$40 plus $2 shipping available from John Ball, 07 386 5138 jbproductions@ihug.co.nz The Advocates were pleased to be associated with the film. Eric Wilson Secretary/Treasurer
14.6.09
Our Strategic Plan is published on this website. Our vision, as stated in the Strategic Plan, is that the Tongariro River be restored and treasured as amongst the world's top 10 wild trout fisheries.
John Ball,who for some years was chief ski instructor at Whakapapa, has turned his hand to film making and has produced a well received film on skiing Whakapapa. John's next project was a film on the Taupo Fishery which will be premiered in Turangi next Monday, 22nd. June, and then shown at other NZ centres.
The Angler's Paradise: A history of the Taupo Fishery : A documentary
film by John Ball Premiere screening 7.30p.m. Monday June 22 2009 Tongariro Charter Club, Turangi Tickets $20 (includes wine and nibbles) Available from Sporting Life, Town Centre, Turangi. Advanced purchase advised.
Other screenings: Starlight Cinema Taupo Wednesday, July 1 7: 45 pm Bookings advised, from: Hunting & Fishing NZ 27 Gascoinge St 07 378 4449 Rialto Cinema Broadway, Newmarket Monday July 20 Wednesday July 22 6:30 pm Bookings advised (09) 369 2417 www.rialto.co.nz DVDs @$40 plus $2 shipping available from John Ball 07 386 5138 jbproductions@ihug.co.nz Information Contact John Ball (07) 386 5138 jbproductions@ihug.co.nz Such a film will show why the Taupo fishery is valued and the Tongariro River regarded as one of the great wild trout fisheries. I hope you can make it to a viewing and that you find it interesting and a valuable resource. The Advocates are pleased that we could make a contribution to the making of this film.
Eric Wilson
Secretary/Treasurer 25.5.09
At the AGM on the 12th April Heather Macdonald was again elected President. Since then Heather has had to stand down for personal reasons. Heather has been a strong leader of the Advocates with great communication skills resulting in excellent relationships with stakeholders. She was a very effective comnmunicator in public relations highlighting the issues of concern to the public. She maintained the high standards in the publishing of the Annual Report (all are in archives of this website) and newsletters (all in archives on the website.) The issues we deal with are not easy and Heather's strength in speaking for us will be missed.
Until the next AGM the committee has endorsed Dr Mark Cosgrove to again take the responsibility for leadership. Mark was the founding President and his leadership strength speaks for itself.
John Wheeler stood down at the AGM as a member of the committee. John brought expertise to the committee through his years as a surveyor, a member of the Mountain Safety Council and as a member of the Geographic Board. John stands down as a result of an injury sustained during a sailing trip around Cape Horn to celebrate his 80th birthday.
We welcome to the committee Marja terHaar who brings administrative experience from her senior role in teaching. Welcome.
The remaining committee members were re-elected.
The committee at this time is:
Dr Mark Cosgrove Acting President
Richard Kemp Vice President
Eric Wilson Secretary/Treasurer
Bob Appleton
Ross Baker
Robert Brace
Dr Stuart Crosbie
Tuatea Smallman
Marja terHaar
John Toogood
At the AGM Bob MacDonnell and Sylvia Smith were made Distinguished members of the Advocates. Both were founding committee members and have maintained close connection with the society. Bob has made a significant contribution to the society through the work done in the production of our newsletters. Sylvia has been responsible for our Annual Reports. Our newsletters and Annual Reports are of a very high standard and for these reasons we are pleased to have them as Distinguished members. Glenn Mclean, DoC fisheries, gave a power point presentation on scientific studies in the fishery. Glen's presentation will be placed on this website this week. Glenn was of the view that the fishery is improving and acknowledged that the last couple of seasons had been below par.
We have made submissions to both Environment Waikato and Taupo District Council on the respective Long Term Community Catchment Plans and on the joint Lake Taupo foreshore erosion plan.
We were disappointed that the Environment Waikato Council in its LTCCP did not make provision for a Community Catchment plan and have submitted on that basis.
We have been in discussion on access matters with Taupo District Council since our formation and have submitted again on matters of access. Our submission was reported in the Turangi Chronicle and is on the TDC website along with all other submissions. Mr Key's announcement on cycleways has given weight to our case.
We are pleased with the actions of the Central North Island Didymo Regional Partner Group. This is a credible committee that is taking a strong action to keep Didymo out of the North Island and out of the Taupo Fishery. Congratulations. Our involvement in environmental activity has been noticed. How can it not? The visual impact created by dying pine trees has drawn criticism from some. Others have praised us, recognising that the invasive pine has been taking over the flora of New Zealand. I have put our case in this website: Issues: Wilding Pines.
My understanding of the pine as a pest has been heightened by reading of the websites found by googling "Wilding Pines" and seeing the activity being taken to eliminate the wilding pines throughout the country. The statement Short Term Pain For Long Term Gain has been made. There will always be a need to pull or cut young seedlings whenever they appear.
It is early days in the new fishing season. There have been runs of fish and anglers are starting to appear on the river but generally the fishing is hard at this time. My observation is that fish size is up on last season but fish are still small. I am heartened that the orange flesh has returned. There are reports of some god sized fish amongst angler's catches but fish seem to be around the 3lb weight. Certainly the season is getting later.
Eric Wilson
Secretary/Treasurer. 4.4.09 AGM Easter Sunday 12th April at 3.00pm at Tongariro Bridge Fishing Resort, State Highway 1, Turangi. All welcome Agenda
Following the formal business, Glenn Maclean, DoC Fisheries Technical Support Manager will present an update on the Taupo Fishery research programme. Light refreshments will follow. Glenn spoke last week at the Lakes and Waterways Action Group meeting
in Turangi on this topic. I found it informative of the action being taken
by DoC Fisheries. I would encourage you to attend. Hopefully, there is a
positive response to our concern over Fish
Quality. Dr Stuart Crosbie's paper (printed in the 2008 Annual Report) arguing a case for an alternative way of managing the Lake Taupo level was presented to Mighty River Power in November 2008 and we met to hear the response from Mighty River Power on March 25th 2009. The outcome of that meeting was: 
1. That the Advocates appreciated the number of staff MRP had involved in considering the merits or our analysis and submission (both behind the scenes and face-to-face at our meetings); 2. That the Advocates acknowledge the significant consequences of the Lake reaching its minimum and therefore the importance of MRP deploying risk assessment methodologies to mimimise the likelihood of such an occurrence; 3. That the evidence presented by the Advocates was not compelling enough to demonstrate that river flows in the Tongariro Delta would be appreciably improved were MRP to alter their management regime by, in effect, lowering lake levels by 15cm on average; 4. That MRP remains receptive to the Advocates presenting better science to support our theory, using recognised scientific experts such as Professor Paul Williams; Didymo It was of concern to read in the Dominion a report stating that Didymo is adapting to grow in still water. One of our committee, Robert Brace, recently fished in the Te Anau area and he supplied a report of his experience. This report is posted in the Didymo section of this website. CHECK,CLEAN, DRY has got to be our responsible action to keep our river, region, North Island, Didymo free. Access Tracks have been cleared in preparation for the winter fishing season but the bigger issue remains to increase the access to the whole length of this river. We acknowledge that there are many difficulties. We represented to DoC Fisheries a case for retaining access by way of the bridge over the Potou stream near the confluence with the Tongariro but the decision is that the bidge will be removed. Currently the bridge is not usable due to scouring of the surrounding banks.
Environmental Issues. We have money in hand for further planting. The elimination of the
wilding pines now enters a stage where wilding pines will have to be felled
where they are likely to fall into the river, onto the walking track or onto
neighbouring property. 
The efforts by Turangitukua are being followed by the Rongomai Marae group in a cleanup of the banks of the Waiotaka stream from the Prison boundary downstream towards the lake. Tongariro River Integrated Catchment Management Plan We received a set back in our planning to achieve an Integrated Catchment Management Plan through the release of the Environment Waikato LTCCP Long Term Community Catchment Plan which shows that they had not planned any expenditure in this area over the next 10 years. We will submit a case for the ICMP to be put into their planning. We know that other community groups will do likewise. Similarly, we have submitted on the Taupo District Council LTCCP.As well, the proposed changes to the Resource Management Act need to be considered. Eric Wilson Secretary/Treasurer March
28.2.09
The committee of the Advocates have been busy preparing submissions for The Long Term Council Community Plan (LTCCP) and for the Lake Taupo Erosion and Flood Strategy. Shortly we expect discussion documents for Environment Waikato and we shall look closely at their future planning.
It is important that we submit our views on the well being of the river as it is an opportunity for putting changes that we see as necessary. into the planning process.
The key development for the Advocates is an Integrated Catchment Management Plan (ICMP) for the Tongariro River. Last year I reported with enthusiasm that we could have such a plan drawn up and accepted by the end of 2009. A change of Councillors at Environment Waikato with a no rates increase policy has seen a reduction in plans and Environment Waikato stating that it sees a Tongariro River ICMP as not necessary at this time which is very disappointing. We and like minded other stakeholders in the community believe that the task can be done with out Environment Waikato and we still have a completion date of December 2009 ahead of us.
We have looked again at the key issues that we have identified and they remain as for 2008. They are Didymo, Fish Quality, Lake Level, Access, Environmental issues (planting and elimination of feral pines), The Mangamawhitwhiti and use of media.
Didymo remains a key issue and it is the role of every angler and river user be they a swimmer, kayaker, tramper and others to observe the check clean dry message. Hopefully we can leave the river to the next generation as a better river than it is today and a Didymo free river. The elimination of felt soled waders is only part of the vigilance necessary. The local committee of which AFTR are a member is developing plans and action and we applaud heartily the efforts of Dave Cade (Didymo Dave) of DoC for their actions.
Fish Quality remains an issue. Smelt are again being seen in the stomachs of trout. Rainbow trout are running in the river at this time. Reports I receive are that the trout remain small though nicely shaped. There are occasional reports of good sized fish in the runs. The Brown trout which run at this time do not seem to have suffered any loss of quality over the last couple of years.
Lake Level. Dr Stuart Crosbie has prepared a paper arguing for Mighty River Power to operate the lake in a manner akin to a natural distribution. Stuart's paper was presented to Mighty River Power key staff and we will receive the response from MRP on the 25th March. The issue of Lake level has communities around the lake very concerned and the fact that a joint effort by Taupo District Council and Environment Waikato to develop a strategy to deal with Lake shore erosion and flooding is pertinent to this concern.
Access There have been no changes in gain or loss of access along the river. We still see a need for more to be done in this area.
Environmental Issues The poisoning of pine trees is very noticeable along the river and will remain so for some time. Some people are upset to see what is happening but in the long term hope to see the river back with the indigenous vegetation along the river. Pine trees have their place in the exotic plantations but they are big weeds when they seed away from the plantations. We all then have the task of pulling the seedlings when we see them and keeping them from growing.
We have funds in hand from WCEET to continue the planting of native species along the river margin.
The Advocates received a Consevation Award 2008 from Department of Conservation for their work "in protecting the riparian sections of the Tongariro, and in particular the wilding pine management." Such managemnt of Feral or Wilding pines is observed in a number of other locations around NZ.
Mangamawhitwhiti The proposed land development on the block of land known as the Mangamawhitwhiti has been notified through the media as stalled. We will keep a watching brief to see what happens as it has not gone away.
Media use We have the Annual Report to come out early in March and have planned for two newsletters during the year. Our president Heather Macdonald has spoken for our group and been reported in various media. She has been an excellent spokesperson for us.
Eric Wilson
Secretary/Treasurer January |
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