September 25, 2014
Piharau matauranga shared
Te Wai Maori Trust, which advocates for Maori on freshwater fisheries, is concerned at declining numbers of lamprey or blind eel, known to North Island Maori as piharau and as kanakana in the south.
About 30 people attended a wananga last weekend at Kairau Marae in Whaitara to to share their knowledge about the ancient fish and the environmental threats it faces.
Trust spokseperson Doug Jones says while it's not as well known as as tuna or eel, it was an important traditional fishery to many iwi.
" Really what we were trying to do was capture some mataruaranga around that fish and identify some of the issues that are going on because the abundance is quite low and there's also a biosecurity response that's happening in the deep south it's called the ' lamprey reddening syndrome ' where the fish are coming up with sort of red spots all over them and are dying " he says.
Doug Jones says the hui endorsed the Ministry for Primary Industries' response to lamprey reddening syndrome, and it also heard about work by scientists from the National institute for Water and Atmosphere on increasing the abundance of the fish, which breeds in fresh water but spends much of its life at sea.
FOR THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH DOUG JONES CLICK ON THE LINK
https://secure.zeald.com/uma/play_podcast?podlink=MjI1MTI=
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