September 2019 - Fish Passages in Shannon Area

• Trip organiser: Jorinna Prinz
  
• Trip guide: Logan Brown (Horizons)
  
• Destination: Shannon area
  

On this beautiful sunny day we drove to Shannon, where we joined up with the rest of the group. With 26 people in total, we were more than double of our usual group size. A lot of people joined us this time as part of Conservation Week 2019 and we were delighted that a few members of the Forest & Bird Horowhenua Branch came too.

Just out of Shannon, we stopped at the first example of a fish passage, constructed at the stream of the local golf course. Logan introduced us to the challenges that local fish face when trying to pass culverts and other man-made constructions. And the challenges of his team trying to modify these obstacles so that the fish can make it through to swim upstream. The kids in our group had fun climbing around the concrete-embedded rocks too!

We traveled to a number of other examples of fish passages nearby, each one with a slightly different situation and design, Logan showed us pictures of how the areas looked before too, and pointed out how willow roots floating in the water and moss-covered boulders help fish to climb upstream where water flows fast. Amazing what those fish can do!

Our last stop for the day was the Mangahao Power Station, where we found a lovely lunch spot by the river. Logan showed us another few fish passages, this time in a bigger scale connected to the hydropower facilities. The last one was so well blended in that it took us a while to spot it!

(Text by Jorinna)