NZ Whitebait

After speaking recently to some friends about my whitebait activities, I came to realise that I did not know a lot about these little fish; what species did they originate from, what might they grow into if they were not caught at this stage in the life cycle?

After a little research I have come up with following which I hope shall answer some questions for those of you also with an interest.

My results have found that there are six adult species of whitebait:
Inanga (Galaxias maculatus), Banded Kokopu (Galaxias fasciatus), Koaro (Galaxias brevipinnis), Giant Kokopu (Galaxias argenteus), Short Jawed Kokopu (Galaxias postvectis) and the Common Smelt (Retropinna retropinna).
The whitebait catch consists primarily of the following: Inanga, Koaro and the Banded Kokopu, although Inanga are the most commonly caught species.

Occasionally present are the young of other species of fish such as Eels, Bullies and Trout.

All whitebait species spend part of their life cycle in fresh water and part in the sea.  These tiny fish hatch in the late autumn are carried along rivers out to sea where they live and grow over winter.  In late winter early spring they migrate back up the rivers and streams to finally settle in bush covered streams and swamps.

The start of their migration is thought to be influenced by by river flows and phases of the moon.

Good luck and many fritters . . . . .

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