Piharau Exploration Confirms our Mātauranga

Using local mātauranga from kōrero tuku iho and experience our Taiao Manager have worked with Regional Council (GWRC) staff to conduct a fish survey that targeted piharau (lamprey). Due to a looming GWRC flood protection proposal to excavate gravel on a section of the Mangaone Stream to alleviate future flooding of Te Horo Beach Road our ohu Taiao had pointed out the risk to the threatened species of piharau known to us to be abundant and present in that particular stream. Given the status of endangerment - nationally vulnerable, the significance to mana whenua as a taonga species, and concerns raised by ART in the Kāpiti Whaitua process, GWRC science and engineering team agreed on a bicultural scientific approach. Site selection for monitoring was informed by mātauranga Māori, habitat, and likely locations on the Mangaone Stream where the forecast works were proposed to occur. Electro-fishing was recommended by GWRC staff and agreed to by our taiao team to increase the chances of finding and stunning piharau buried in the silt and gravel beds.  

Well over 40 juvenile piharau were captured, measured, and released. Both brown and iridescent blue specimens were captured. It was the most piharau GWRC had seen in a stream. Along with the target species we caught koura, īnanga, toitoi (Redfin bully) and tuna. The findings of this exploratory trip in our rohe was significant and western science methods confirmed NHoO mātauranga and our indigenous scientific observations. Both teams shared knowledge and learnt from earch other in an ideal Tiriti partnership style. The success can be attributed to the willingness of both parties wanting to work together to potentially save a threatened species and it just so happened to be a multi-cultural team Caleb Royal (Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Maiotaki, Ngāti Pare), Dr Aroha Spinks (Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Kapu, Ngāti Tukorehe), Alton Perrie (Pākehā), Bram Mulling (Dutch South African), Shyam Morar (New Zealander of Indian decent), Antonietta Demurtas (Italian). During the exploration we were also joined by local farmer and member of the Kawanatanga Whare for Whaitua Kāpiti – Kerry Walker. Our taiao team is hopeful for more collaborative inclusive mana whenua led taiao projects with our councils. 

The learning from this monitoring excursion will be used to influence how to best mitigate the flooding of Te Horo Beach Road. It may mean that gravel extraction is not the best option, and other less invasive methods are used to reduce flooding of the local road. 

As GWRC staff said ‘if there were a bunch of takahē living there, we wouldn’t be in there with a digger destroying their habitat – piharau have the same threat status as takahē, so these findings are significant when thinking about river management’. 

For further information regarding the Piharau:

Aroha inspecting Piharau juveniles for the first time. Photo by Antonietta Demuras