The Ngaruroro River, its catchments and the Clive River (the old Ngaruroro) are soon to be considered by a special tribunal for a Water Conservation Order (WCO).
A WCO recognises special features of a river system including ecological, recreational, and cultural values. Its purpose is to protect values of national significance. The ecological values of the Ngaruroro River and its catchments are wide ranging.
They include a large diversity of indigenous fish of which nine are threatened, coastal spawning grounds of inanga (whitebait), a migration passage and feeding grounds for many fish species, and breeding and feeding habitat for threatened native birds such as black-billed gull, banded dotterel and Australian bittern.
The applicants of the WCO have assessed all values of the river and taken a "Mountains to the Sea" approach, setting out to protect the values for the whole reach of the river(s). There are certainly strong ecological grounds for this approach.
The river should be considered as a whole ecosystem from the mountains to the sea, recognising the life cycle of the threatened fish that may reside in the upper to mid reaches. For example, bluegill bully, redfin bully, longfin eel and koaro all require access to the sea to complete their life cycle.
