MANAGING OUR ENVIRONMENT GETTING PEOPLE PLACES Si tes of Significance for Aquatic Biodiversity in the M anawatu-Wanganui Region : Technical Report to Support Policy Development May 2007 Sites of Significance for Aquatic Biodiversity in the Manawatu-Wanganui Region : Technical Report to Support Policy Development May 2007 Authors Kate McArthur, Maree Clark and Joe McGehan Internally Reviewed and Approved by Fleur Maseyk and Alistair Beveridge Horizons Regional Council External Review by Roger Young – Cawthron Institute Dave Rowe – NIWA Russell Death – Massey University Acknowledgements to Olivier Ausseil, James Lambie, Ian Henderson, Mike Joy and Helen Marr Cover Photo Giant kokopu – Landcare Research May 2007 ISBN: 1-877413-82-8 Report No: 2007/EXT/794 CONTACT 24hr Freephone 0508 800 800 [email protected] www.horizons.govt.nz Kairanga Cnr Rongotea & Kairanga-Bunnythorpe Rds Palmerston North Levin Palmerston North 11 Bruce Road Marton 11-15 Victoria Avenue SERVICE REGIONAL Cnr Hammond & Hair Sts DEPOTS CENTRES HOUSES Taihape Wanganui Torere Road Taumarunui 181 Guyton Street Ohotu 34 Maata Street Woodville Cnr Vogel (SH2) & Tay Sts POSTAL Horizons Regional Council, Private Bag 11025, Manawatu Mail Centre, Palmerston North 4442 | F 06 9522 929 ADDRESS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Under the purposes and principles of the Resource Management Act (1991) the maintenance and enhancement of aquatic ecosystems is a matter of national importance. Through the development of the One Plan, Sites of Significance for Aquatic biodiversity (SOS-A) within the Manawatu-Wanganui Region have been identified. This report summarises current knowledge of the state of aquatic biodiversity in the Manawatu-Wanganui Region, highlights the distribution and diversity of fish and aquatic invertebrates within the regional setting and includes a description of the characteristics of the native fish, blue duck and invertebrate faunas. National patterns of fish community diversity, described extensively in the New Zealand literature, are not reflected in the Region. Nationally, lowland reaches of waterways have been found to contain the highest abundance and diversity of fish species because of the diadromous (migratory) nature of many native fish. However, loss of suitable lowland habitat, barriers to migration, degraded water quality and the presence of introduced taxa has reduced the number of fish species commonly found in lowland areas. Many of the rare and threatened fish species that remain are highly vulnerable to regional decline or extinction due to poor inland penetration or non-migratory, small, or sparsely distributed populations and a lack of suitable, accessible habitat. Identification of the critical habitat requirements and protection of the remaining sites and reaches where these species are present is an important first step in halting the decline of aquatic biodiversity in the Manawatu-Wanganui Region. A regional list of rare and threatened species has been developed and used to determine significant sites for protection under the One Plan. The regional list incorporates information from established threat classification systems and lists, data from the New Zealand National Freshwater Fish Database and regional expert knowledge. Ten aquatic species (nine fish and the blue duck) are considered regionally rare and threatened. The definition of 149 Sites of Significance Aquatic (SOS-A), based on the recorded presence of one or more regionally rare and threatened species and an additional habitat buffer, is recommended. Although inanga are not listed as a regionally rare and threatened species, they are an important component of lowland fish communities and are recognised for their significance to the recreational and cultural value of whitebait fisheries. Native Fish Spawning (NFS) is identified as a separate value from SOS-A because inanga spawning does not overlap with the spawning sites of rare and threatened fish. Therefore a separate value (NFS) is determined by the location of inanga spawning sites. The critical habitat requirements and recommendations for Sites of Significance – Aquatic (defined by the rare and threatened taxa) and Native Fish (inanga) Spawning are defined. Sites acknowledged for these values are identified and mapped regionally and a summary of the current research on native fish and known barriers to fish migration is included. Sites of Significance for Aquatic Biodiversity in the Manawatu-Wanganui Region i Technical Report to Support Policy Development – May 2007 Executive Summary ii Sites of Significance for Aquatic Biodiversity in the Manawatu-Wanganui Region Technical Report to Support Policy Development – May 2007 CONTENTS Executive Summary i Contents iii 1. Introduction and Scope 1 1.1 Background 1 1.2 Planning context 1 1.3 Peer review 4 2. The state of aquatic biodiversity in the Manawatu-Wanganui Region 5 2.1 Components of aquatic biodiversity in the Region 5 2.2 Regional distribution and habitat requirements of native fish 5 2.3 Characteristics of the freshwater fish fauna 36 2.4 Aquatic invertebrates 39 2.5 Blue duck 44 2.6 Introduced species 45 3. Threats to aquatic biodiversity 47 3.1 Human modification of aquatic habitat 47 3.2 Summary of habitat requirements for aquatic species 51 3.3 Recommendations for further research 51 4. Sites of Significance – Aquatic: recommendations for the One Plan 53 Defining species of regional significance 53 4.1 A species-based approach 53 4.2 The role of predictive modelling 53 4.3 New Zealand National Freshwater Fish Database records 54 4.4 International threatened species classification 56 4.5 National threatened species classification 56 4.6 Regionally rare, threatened and significant species 58 5. Identification of Sites of Significance – Aquatic (SOS-A) 61 5.1 Defining site locations and habitat buffers 61 5.2 Regional identification of Sites of Significance – Aquatic (SOS-A) 65 6. Native Fish (inanga) Spawning Value 67 7. Summary 69 8. References 71 Appendix 1 75 Appendix 2 77 Appendix 3 87 Appendix 4 89 Appendix 5 95 Sites of Significance for Aquatic Biodiversity in the Manawatu-Wanganui Region iii Technical Report to Support Policy Development – May 2007 Contents FIGURES Figure 1 Planning context of the Sites of Significance for Aquatic Biodiversity report in relation to the water and biodiversity technical reports supporting the One Plan. 2 TABLES Table 1. Characteristics of native freshwater fish in the Manawatu- Wanganui Region 36 Table 2. National Species Threat Classification System in relation to freshwater aquatic organisms – Department of Conservation, after Hitchmough et al. (2007) 57 Table 3. Classification and justification of aquatic bird and freshwater fish species to define Sites of Significance – Aquatic (SOS-A) and Native Fish (inanga) Spawning (NFS) values 58 MAPS Map 1 Recorded surveys of banded kokopu between 1991 and 2006 (Source: New Zealand National Freshwater Fish Database) and recommended reaches for Sites of Significance – Aquatic in the Manawatu-Wanganui Region 9 Map 2 Recorded surveys of giant kokopu between 1991 and 2006 (Source: New Zealand National Freshwater Fish Database) and recommended reaches for Sites of Significance – Aquatic in the Manawatu-Wanganui Region 10 Map 3 Recorded surveys of shortjaw kokopu between 1991 and 2006 (source: New Zealand National Freshwater Fish Database) and recommended reaches for Sites of Significance – Aquatic in the Manawatu-Wanganui Region 11 Map 4 Recorded surveys of dwarf galaxias between 1991 and 2006 (Source: New Zealand National Freshwater Fish Database) and recommended reaches for Sites of Significance – Aquatic in the Manawatu-Wanganui Region 14 Map 5 Recorded surveys of brown mudfish between 1991 and 2006 (Source: New Zealand National Freshwater Fish Database) and recommended reaches for Sites of Significance – Aquatic in the Manawatu-Wanganui Region 15 Map 6 Recorded surveys of redfin bullies between 1991 and 2006 (Source: New Zealand National Freshwater Fish Database) and recommended reaches for Sites of Significance – Aquatic in the Manawatu-Wanganui Region 19 Map 7 Recorded surveys of bluegill bullies between 1991 and 2006 (Source: New Zealand National Freshwater Fish Database) and recommended reaches for Sites of Significance – Aquatic in the Manawatu-Wanganui Region 20 Map 8 Recorded surveys of lamprey between 1991 and 2006 ( Source: New Zealand National Freshwater Fish Database) and recommended reaches for Sites of Significance – Aquatic in the Manawatu-Wanganui Region 21 iv Sites of Significance for Aquatic Biodiversity in the Manawatu-Wanganui Region Technical Report to Support Policy Development – May 2007 Contents Map 9 Recorded surveys of koaro between 1991 and 2006 ( Source: New Zealand National Freshwater Fish Database) and recommended reaches for Sites of Significance – Aquatic in the Manawatu-Wanganui Region 22 Map 10 Distribution of non-migratory bullies (Cran’s and upland) in the Manawatu-Wanganui Region between 1991 and 2006 (Source: New Zealand National Freshwater Fish Database) 24 Map 11 Distribution of common bully in the Manawatu-Wanganui Region between 1991 and 2006 (Source: New Zealand National Freshwater Fish Database) 26 Map 12 Distribution of giant bully in the Manawatu-Wanganui Region between 1991 and 2006 (Source: New Zealand National Freshwater Fish Database). 27 Map 13 Distribution of black flounder in the Manawatu-Wanganui Region between 1991 and 2006 (Source: New Zealand National Freshwater Fish Database). 28 Map 14 Distribution of torrentfish in the Manawatu-Wanganui Region between 1991 and 2006 (Source: New Zealand National Freshwater Fish Database). 30 Map 15 Distribution of common smelt in the Manawatu-Wanganui Region between 1991 and 2006 (Source: New Zealand National Freshwater Fish Database). 31 Map 16 Distribution of adult inanga in the Manawatu-Wanganui Region between 1991 and 2006 (Source: New Zealand National Freshwater Fish Database). 34 Map 17 Distribution of eels in the Manawatu-Wanganui Region between 1991 and 2006 (Source: New Zealand National Freshwater Fish Database) 35 Map 18 Recorded distribution of Aquatic Invertebrates (polychaete, koura and kakahi) in the Manawatu-Wanganui Region between 1991 and 2006 43 Map 19 Map of all New Zealand National Freshwater Fish Database (NFFDB) records in the Manawatu-Wanganui Region between 1991 and 2006 55 Map 20 Identified Sites of Significance – Aquatic as defined by the presence of blue duck in the Manawatu-Wanganui Region 62 Map 21 Sites of Significance Aquatic (SOS-A) in the Manawatu-Wanganui Region 66 Map 22 Sites identified for Native Fish (inanga) Spawning in the Manawatu-Wanganui Region 68 Sites of Significance for Aquatic Biodiversity in the Manawatu-Wanganui Region v Technical Report to Support Policy Development – May 2007