Raul Posted August 31, 2006 Report Share Posted August 31, 2006 It's whitebait season again and if you're looking for something different for your tank i recommend you go fishing. here's one of my banded kokopu whitebait from last year all grown up. http://render2.snapfish.com/render2/is= ... 50,590,428 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shiuh Posted August 31, 2006 Report Share Posted August 31, 2006 hi there the link doesnt work for me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raul Posted August 31, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 31, 2006 hey, i've tried putting the link in again. it seems to be too long. but if you copy the whole thing into your address bar it seems to work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted August 31, 2006 Report Share Posted August 31, 2006 Ours look different - different whitebait in different areas - bit still pretty. Ours are pale cream and bluey/green and catch the light beautifully. We had 8 of them - all called called Patty. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raul Posted August 31, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 31, 2006 sounds like they might be inanga, a different species to the banded kokopu. but still a really cool fish, i used to have a few but they ate me out of house and home. do they look like this? this is one of my inanga that i used to have http://images1.snapfish.com/3479%3B%3C8 ... 3696nu0mrj Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz Posted August 31, 2006 Report Share Posted August 31, 2006 why do think that whitebait are whiteworms with eyes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted August 31, 2006 Report Share Posted August 31, 2006 Yes Raul, they were inanga. That is what we get here, not the kokopu. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishboi Posted August 31, 2006 Report Share Posted August 31, 2006 so inanga is white bait?? the same stuff that we buy to eat i've got few of them in my pond biggest one is about 14cm. i thought they all died over the winter but i've seem them out again they seem to breed like nuts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minchton Posted August 31, 2006 Report Share Posted August 31, 2006 according to our local regional council who make a study of these elusive fishes they have identified is excess of 20 different varietys. would make for an interesting exercise if you wish to record a breeding. :lol: Our local DOC rep gave a talk to our club at one stage and said that there were only seven (shows how little they know) varietys from the common to the more rare. They asked that we check them as we catch them and kindly put the rarer ones back. The regional council said that the only true way to identify them was by microscope. Can you just see a line-up of whitebaiters all equiped with their microscope checking each fish as they caught it. I deffinately wouldn't want to catch a big shoal at that rate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raul Posted August 31, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 31, 2006 Inanga is indeed whitebait and is the main species that get caught in the whitebait runs. Whitebait traditionally (and correctly) refers to the young of five species of Galaxias. Many other species can be caught while whitebaiting as NZ freshwater fish fauna is dominated by species that migrate between the sea and freshwater to complete parts of their lifecycle. Some, like the smelt (Retropinna sp), look superficially like Galaxias whitebait and probably often end up in patties. 90% of the whitebait caught are generally inanga, then the rest is mostly koaro and banded kökopu. Giant and short jaw kökopu make up less than 1% of the whitebait run. These are the ones that have a nationally threatened classification. A large number of inanga do die after spawning each year but some survive to spawn several times and survive for several years. Similarly if they don’t spawn (e.g. kept in a pond or a tank) they will survive several years. And remember, Native fish kick butt! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted September 1, 2006 Report Share Posted September 1, 2006 I think the inunga is also called stinky or cucumber fish (smells like cucumber) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishy_t Posted September 1, 2006 Report Share Posted September 1, 2006 The fact that all of our rarest fish have a whitebait stage in their life cycle is the reason I could never eat whitebait or support the catching of it for food - the giant kokopu might only make up around 1% of the run - but considering how many whitebate EACH person who catches them pull out of the ecosystem each year - I'm sure you'll agree that numbers wise that is allot of the rare fish being eaten - before they even get a chance to grow up!! I don't see how people can justify eating baby fish - It makes absolutely no sense eating any animal before it gets a chance to reproduce. And as we have destroyed most of our native fishes habitat as well as constantly introducing trout that eat them, I don't understand how anyone who loves our country and wants to let the next generation enjoy it too can kill SO MANY of its native animals at one time! Just because fish don't sing like a tui doesn't mean they aren't important!! Ok - rant over Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gannet Posted September 1, 2006 Report Share Posted September 1, 2006 :evil: Go the rant!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishy_t Posted September 1, 2006 Report Share Posted September 1, 2006 Thanks - not enough people stick up for NZ fish!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minchton Posted September 1, 2006 Report Share Posted September 1, 2006 If I was to go to the beach and catch a Kawhai, take it to the local and raffle it I would be prosecuted. If I dived for a crayfish and sold it I would be prosecuted. If I go down to the river and catch a good number of native fish i.e. whitebait I can take them to the local butcher and sell them for $100. Ask DOC why this is so and they look at you blankly. So much for protection of native species in this country, but dont do anything to destroy the trout fishery or you will be jail before you turn around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishy_t Posted September 1, 2006 Report Share Posted September 1, 2006 sad isn't it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insect Direct Posted September 1, 2006 Report Share Posted September 1, 2006 ............................... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke* Posted September 1, 2006 Report Share Posted September 1, 2006 I don't know...... I grew up eating nice crumbed and fried white bait...very yummy, except a bit freaky eating them eyes and everything else lol. They'll probably be killed by run offs from fertilisers and effluents from farms etc before they're overfished to extinction. Humans will likely be extinct one day too though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishy_t Posted September 1, 2006 Report Share Posted September 1, 2006 Thats the whole point!!! If we are already putting stress on the populations by killing them with our polution and destroying their habitat then eating the babies by the thousand isn't really a good idea if you ask me and from an ecology point of view... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raul Posted September 3, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 3, 2006 It’s good to see some people being passionate about NZ native fish. Fish are often overlooked in conservation plans and the plight of native fish is virtually unknown to Joe Public. Whether the total banning of whitebaiting is the answer, I’m not really sure. It’s important to note that the whitebait run outside of the allowed fishing season so some only have to worry about being eaten by any number natural predators (are humans natural predators?). Of course I can’t argue that the huge catches of whitebait during the season aren’t having a negative impact. Habitat destruction is for me the key issue in regards to the decline in native fish. Many native species show strong correlations with native forest catchments. Where there’s no native forest there’s no native fish. When you hear figures, like 90 % of NZ wetlands have been drained, it’s no wonder the fish are in trouble. It’s some of the non-diadromous species (non- migratory e.g. not whitebait) that are the rarest fishes in NZ. There are some species whose distribution is limited to a single river/stream system. If something happens to that system the entire species could be lost… As to the fish that smells like cucumber, that’s the smelt (Retropinna retropinna). And it’s the same chemical compound that gives this fish the smell that gives the cucumber the smell. The wonders of evolution will never cease to amaze me. Trout, I won’t start about trout, it’ll get me all worked up and then I’ll never be able to get to sleep tonight… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishy_t Posted September 3, 2006 Report Share Posted September 3, 2006 Totally agree with you!!!! I also have no doubt that habitat destruction is by far the major cause of the problem - I just get really pissed off at the amount of people (like you said) that have NO IDEA about what whitebait actually is and what they could actually be doing by choosing to eat either a beef patty or one that contains 100 baby fish!! (BTW - I'm not getting at people who catch a few of these cool little fish to grow them up in your tanks - its a bit different to chowing down 1000 in one sitting!) And yeah - if you ask me who ever releases Trout into our rivers (and still does ever year!) should be told what they are actually doing to the ecosystem - again I don't think people get told what trout actually do to our rivers and its very sad that we (as humans) still seem to think its OK to risk causing the extinction of species just so they can go fishing on the weekend - here's an idea if you want to go fishing - how about the SEA???!!!! WOW - I know the idea is pretty far out there!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted September 10, 2006 Report Share Posted September 10, 2006 we keep native fish. They are so addictive! it is amazing learning about this whole native ecosystem I was completely unaware of, and going out to catch or simply spotlight them at night is fun. We have inanga, bullies, a cray, used to have koaro, and today went whitebaiting for the first time and got a whole lot of probable-inanga. We will release most of them once we can tell what they are, keeping what we want. (we caught a whole lot more than we wanted and secretly released them upstream of the whitebaiters!) Stella Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insect Direct Posted September 13, 2006 Report Share Posted September 13, 2006 ............................... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minchton Posted September 13, 2006 Report Share Posted September 13, 2006 mouth of the manawatu river as the tide starts to come in, or up river later on. You would need a clear river to be able to see them and then only if you are lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidb Posted November 14, 2006 Report Share Posted November 14, 2006 yeah I have inaga's, giant kocupu and a fw cray and they are all awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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