Habitat requirements of native freshwater fish in Aotearoa New Zealand

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Summary

Native freshwater fish in Aotearoa New Zealand are found in waterbodies from the mountains to the sea. They have a wide range of habitat requirements, with some species occupying the same type of habitat throughout their entire life cycle and others living in different habitats at different life stages. The availability of habitat is an important driver of freshwater fish presence and abundance but can be affected by many common instream activities. This report collates information from scientific papers, technical reports, theses, peer-reviewed studies and personal observations to outline the known habitat requirements of 10 native freshwater fish species during their different life stages. These species include tuna/longfin eel (Anguilla dieffenbachii), panoko/torrentfish (Cheimarrichthys fosteri), giant kōkopu (Galaxias argenteus), kōaro (Galaxias brevipinnis), dwarf galaxias (Galaxias divergens), īnanga (Galaxias maculatus), shortjaw kōkopu (Galaxias postvectis), piharau/kanakana/lamprey (Geotria australis), bluegill bully (Gobiomorphus hubbsi) and redfin bully (Gobiomorphus huttoni), all of which are river-dwelling species that had a conservation status of Threatened or At Risk – Declining under the 2013 New Zealand Threat Classification System assessment. The review revealed that, in general, the habitat requirements of adult life stages have been best documented, with more limited information being available on larval and juvenile life stages, as well as habitat use during spawning. There are particular knowledge gaps for the larval stages of torrentfish and the galaxias and bully species; the juvenile stages of torrentfish, kōaro, lamprey and bullies; and the spawning habitats of torrentfish and dwarf galaxias, as well as kōaro in lakes.