Geoff Thomas: Nets set to capture secretive native fish

Many whitebaiters live beside the river for the season. Photo / APN

The whitebait season is under way around the country, with the West Coast of the South Island opening two days ago. The rest of the country opened on August 15, and while catches have been slow, the fishing usually improves later in spring.

Whitebaiters are traditionally protective about their spots, which are called stands and can change hands for considerable sums.

The whitebaiting culture is contrary to all other fishing. Many people live on the river side in cabins and baches and caravans for the season, and some make a reasonable income.

The regulations are set and administered by the Department of Conservation, because they involve native fish. But outside of the season and certain netting restrictions and hours when fishing is allowed, whitebaiting is wide open to amateur commercialism. There is no quota. Anybody can catch whitebait and sell them on the side of the road. Of course there are legitimate buyers, but there is no limit on volumes.

Theories abound for the lack of whitebait running at certain times. Some say the tides were not big enough to hatch the eggs, which displays a certain understanding of the biology involved. That in itself is unusual, for the life story of the little fish is unique. They don't run up the rivers to spawn, as is commonly argued. In fact it is the reverse.

What we know as whitebait are the young of five members of the native galaxiid family - inanga (the most common), banded kokopu, koaro, giant kokopu and short-jawed kokopu. Smelt are often found with them, as are the larger, silver, cucumber-smelling fish which aficionados discard.

The name kokopu is commonly seen on streams, where the road sign will say Kaikokopu Stream, which refers to the traditional values of the stream as a fishery for whitebait in times gone by. Kai says food, and kokopu says whitebait.

Apart from smelt, the adults are secretive fish which are rarely seen and live in swamps and fast-flowing streams and rivers. But they need the natural habitat with bush-clad banks and the clearing of bush from catchments has contributed much to the demise of whitebait. This is why the South Island's West Coast is the premier whitebait region, as much of the original bush and forest remains.

The adult fish migrate downstream in autumn to lay eggs on stream-side grasses and reeds on a high tide, and the eggs are exposed until the next spring tide a month later, when they are inundated, hatch and are swept out to sea.

Another factor affecting the fishery is stock grazing on the stream banks, destroying any eggs. After hatching, the tiny fish grow quickly, but many are eaten by birds and other fish. In spring the juvenile fish migrate back up the rivers and streams as the whitebait we know so well.

Of course not everybody can catch their own whitebait, and many fans rely on fish shops where the price creeps higher every year, topping $200 a kilo in some outlets.

But buyer beware: whitebait is a generic term which is also applied to the young of various saltwater fish, and whitebait which is imported from other countries and sold under the familiar name has no resemblance in taste or appearance to what is regarded as real whitebait. If unsure about the origin of the prospective dinner in the shop window, the price is the best indicator.

We once learned a new recipe in Mokau, home of whitebait on the North Island's west coast. Don't put flour in the mix; it goes gluggy. If you want to bulk it up a bit, use a spoonful of breadcrumbs instead. Chopped parsley can also be added to fritters.

Fishing is permitted between 5am and 8pm, or 6am and 9pm when daylight saving applies. The season runs from August 15 to November 30, except for the West Coast of the South Island, where it is September 1 to November 14. On the Chatham Islands, the season runs from December 1 to February 28.

* More fishing action can be found on I, 5.30pm on TV3, and on the new internet television channel FishnHunt.Tv