Native fish in the city

Our cities have a maze of often forgotten waterways tucked away beneath weedy banks or buried in concrete pipes under busy streets. Native freshwater fish, our hidden treasures, may still be surviving – but only just.

Presently the most polluted waterways in New Zealand are found in urban areas.

What are some of the biggest barriers to stream and native fish health in our urban areas and what can we do to help?

Species count at city stream

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Students involved in a citizen science project in Auckland identify and count the number of species they collected in a water sample at a local stream. A diverse species count can be an indication of good water quality.

Any work to restore a stream must begin with a stock-take of what species are present and what issues are likely affecting the stream.

Rights: Sarah Morgan, Comet Auckland

They’re streams – not drains!

In the past, we’ve treated urban streams like drains – straightening them, channelling them and piping them to make them carry away rain and wastewater as quickly as possible – yet urban waterways often have significant areas of native riparian or wetland vegetation that provide habitat for native plants and animals.

They are also an important network that provide corridors for birds, insects and fish to move around in, to seek food or shelter or to carry out their life cycle.

City streams can also be valuable recreational assets that soften the urban landscape and provide green spaces for people to relax in.

Stormwater drain in Rotorua

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Many contaminants enter waterways through stormwater run-off. Images of fish on stormwater drains in Rotorua help remind residents about the connection between stormwater drains and the city streams – and fish habitats – they are piped into.

Rights: Velella, Creative Commons 3.0

Some of our urban waterways contain heritage sites of historical and cultural importance, which makes a lot of sense when you remember that we all need water and our ancestors would often build their homes or developments around waterways.

Otuataua Stonefields

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Otuataua Stonefields Historic Reserve is a remnant of the food gardens that once covered the Auckland isthmus. Māori used stone walls to protect against wind and warm the soil.

Rights: Bryndlefly, Creative Commons 3.0

Papakāinga Ihumātao at the Otuataua Stonefields Historic Reserve is an example of an important heritage site located by urban waterways. Manukau Harbour and the Oruarangi Awa were sources of food for this papakāinga. Learn about the impacts of humans on this environment and the work of kaitiaki and local students to restore the area in Ihumātao – past and present.

Stressed-out city streams

Urban streams are usually in worse condition than rural streams for every water quality measure – clarity, nutrients, temperature, bacteria and heavy metals. This leads to low abundance of aquatic species and poor biodiversity.

In cities, our fish encounter a bewildering tangle of pipes, culverts, channels and drains with overheated, murky and polluted water. These streams block their ability to move around and to migrate to complete their life cycle.

Streams and fish habitats are also being lost every day to urban development, particularly small streams high in the catchment. In Auckland, 11 kilometres of streams are piped every year.

If having your home completely destroyed is not enough to deal with, native fish are also facing other issues caused by humans in their environment:

• Fish living in urban streams are doused with harmful substances washed off our roofs, streets and building sites every time it rains.

• Concrete slurry, paint, food scraps, oil, fuel, mould killer, heavy metals, car cleaners, weed sprays and soil carried in stormwater can poison, burn, blind or suffocate fish.

• Animal poo from ducks, pigeons, pets and others can contaminate water with harmful microbes.

• Heavy downpours on hard surfaces like roads, roofs, driveways and car parks send large pulses of water down streams, eroding banks, transporting mud and rubbish and sometimes causing sewer overflows.

So what can we do to better the chances of survival for our urban-dwelling native fish?

Breathing life back into urban streams

There is an increasing interest in urban stream restoration and stormwater channel development. Even if you don’t live by a stream, there will be a network of underground pipes connecting your home to the closest stream. Some of you may be lucky enough to live beside a stream or river. Either way, there is lots that you can do to keep streams healthy.

From sad to fab!

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Visionary council-led projects have helped to turn lifeless stormwater channels into habitats for native fish – and an attractive outdoor asset for local community!

Rights: Boffa Miskell

Learn more about how we can help our local streams and native fish in Stream works for fish, Healthy farms, healthy fish and Planning for change.

Case study: Oruarangi Stream

A devastating industrial dye spill in Auckland poisoned a stream, killing freshwater and marine life. Local students teamed up with kaitiaki and scientists to help restore the mauri to the Oruarangi Stream. The work to restore the stream began with the gathering of baseline data including species counts and water quality testing. The timeline River investigations and the nature of science documents the different stages of the project.