Eastern Bay heroes going the "hard yards" to save the eel are being featured on a Maori Television documentary.
The documentary shows the extraordinary life-cycle of the longfin eel (tuna), its history among Maori tribes and the hard work of those helping the threatened species survive.
Saving Tuna premieres this Saturday at 8.30pm.
Featured on the programme is local man Bill Kerrison, who is continuing a 30-year-old catch-and-release programme to rebuild eel stocks in the Rangitaiki River from Murupara to Whakatane.
Ngati Awa tikanga expert Pouroto Ngaropo talks about the reverence tribes have for the eel as tipuna and mokai (ancestors and pets), while John Hohapata-Oke is establishing the National Eel Association.