What's On at Zealandia

The 2024 collection of toitoi has now happened! A small team joined a group of Taranaki Whānui ki te Ūpoko o te Ika whānau on April 20th  to collect toitoi from Kohangapiripiri at Parangarahu Lakes. These ika/fish are now in quarantine at Zealandia for around four weeks to ensure they are nice and healthy before we release them into Roto Māhanga.

Conservation is complex work that rarely comes with a neatly packaged ‘How-To’ guide. This month alone we celebrated the arrival of a new pair of takahē to Zealandia while also trying to unpack a ‘whodunnit’ of epic proportions beneath the surface of our waters.

An eagle-eyed Zealandia volunteer spotted a pied shag making light work of a rather large pinky coloured fish in Roto Kawau, the lower reservoir.

Aotearoa New Zealand's native ika/fish are quiet and cryptic, and their struggles often goes unnoticed. In New Zealand we have over 50 species of native freshwater fish and over 70% of them are threatened or at risk. Some key reasons for this are pollution, loss of habitat or the challenges these fish face simply to move between habitats.

This blog explores some of those issues and what we can do to help out our freshwater friends. 

From Friday 12 May, a freshwater fish species (toitoi) will start being released at Zealandia Te Māra a Tāne to make the Wellington ecosanctuary their new home.

This is the first time toitoi have been translocated in modern times and is likely the first freshwater fish translocation that has been done within Aotearoa New Zealand for restoration reasons. 

Nestled in specially designed kete/baskets made from harakeke/flax, 150 kākahi/freshwater mussels recently made their way to their new home in Zealandia Te Māra a Tāne. 

During April 2022 the team at Zealandia Te Māra a Tāne translocated kākahi/freshwater mussels into Roto Māhanga/the upper reservoir. 

Wellington – 21 April 2022: Māori knowledge and western science have come together again to support the latest wildlife translocation to Zealandia Te Māra a Tāne.

Every summer, some rivers and lakes around New Zealand turn soupy green, as algae (cyanobacteria) increases in abundance, blooming in the sun-warmed water. In normal numbers, the algae is an essential part of our freshwater ecosystems. When overabundant, some species that bloom also produce toxins which pose a health risk to humans and animals that come into contact with the water.