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Īnanga at Te Waihora Lake Ellesmere
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Description
TitleWhitebait at Te Waihora Lake Ellesmere
DescriptionĪnanga, whitebait, or Galaxias maculatus belong to the Galaxiidae family, named after the Milky Way galaxy because of their sparkling spots. There four other native species of whitebait from the Galaxias family, all of which used to be found in Te Waihora: kōaro (Galaxias brevipinnis), shortjaw kōkopu (Galaxias postvectis) and the rarer banded kōkopu (Galaxias fasciatus) and giant kōkopu (Galaxias argenteus). Īnanga feed on tiny insects in the open water. Young common smelt or paraki (Retropinna retropinna) are also caught as whitebait.
Īnanga grow to between 8–11 cm in length and have a bright silver abdomen and a speckled olive-coloured back: they have no scales and look transparent.
Māori developed many expert ways of catching īnanga at the lake, such as making nets from stripped harakeke (flax), which were often adopted by the early Europeans using modern materials, such as using cotton nets. Te Waihora was a good source of whitebait for the people of Ngāi Te Ruahikihiki, based at Taumutu and Ngāi Tahu whānui passing through on their travels. The fish were dried in the sun for preservation.
Īnanga can only migrate in from the sea when Te Waihora is artificially opened, and southerly storms can then quickly close the lake again, so the timing of the opening can impact the success of whitebaiters; as can the quality of the īnanga spawning process in the previous autumn.
Their spawning habitat has been affected by the advent of changes brought about by European farming practices from the 1850s, following the contested sale of Ngāi Tahu land across Canterbury through the Kemp Deed in 1848. The drainage of wetlands and the introduction of livestock, pasture, and fertilisers played a key role in decreasing the health of Te Waihora as a habitat and degrading the īnanga spawning areas. This is because they lay their eggs on land during spring tides on vegetation in the tidal zone, which are left there until they are flushed into the sea as larvae by the next spring tides.
Restoration and support of these spawning areas is being undertaken as part of a wider initiative to restore the health of Te Waihora and its tributaries, through activities such as riparian (streamside) planting days organised by agencies such as Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, regional councils, and other environmentally-focused groups.
DescriptionĪnanga, whitebait, or Galaxias maculatus belong to the Galaxiidae family, named after the Milky Way galaxy because of their sparkling spots. There four other native species of whitebait from the Galaxias family, all of which used to be found in Te Waihora: kōaro (Galaxias brevipinnis), shortjaw kōkopu (Galaxias postvectis) and the rarer banded kōkopu (Galaxias fasciatus) and giant kōkopu (Galaxias argenteus). Īnanga feed on tiny insects in the open water. Young common smelt or paraki (Retropinna retropinna) are also caught as whitebait. Īnanga grow to between 8–11 cm in length and have a bright silver abdomen and a speckled olive-coloured back: they have no scales and look transparent.
Māori developed many expert ways of catching īnanga at the lake, such as making nets from stripped harakeke (flax), which were often adopted by the early Europeans using modern materials, such as using cotton nets. Te Waihora was a good source of whitebait for the people of Ngāi Te Ruahikihiki, based at Taumutu and Ngāi Tahu whānui passing through on their travels. The fish were dried in the sun for preservation.
Īnanga can only migrate in from the sea when Te Waihora is artificially opened, and southerly storms can then quickly close the lake again, so the timing of the opening can impact the success of whitebaiters; as can the quality of the īnanga spawning process in the previous autumn.
Their spawning habitat has been affected by the advent of changes brought about by European farming practices from the 1850s, following the contested sale of Ngāi Tahu land across Canterbury through the Kemp Deed in 1848. The drainage of wetlands and the introduction of livestock, pasture, and fertilisers played a key role in decreasing the health of Te Waihora as a habitat and degrading the īnanga spawning areas. This is because they lay their eggs on land during spring tides on vegetation in the tidal zone, which are left there until they are flushed into the sea as larvae by the next spring tides.
Restoration and support of these spawning areas is being undertaken as part of a wider initiative to restore the health of Te Waihora and its tributaries, through activities such as riparian (streamside) planting days organised by agencies such as Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, regional councils, and other environmentally-focused groups.
Connections
CollectionMahika kai species of Te WaihoraTe Waihora Lake EllesmerePlacete waihoraMapMap of the major waterways of Te Waihora catchmentMore InformationRead about īnanga on the Te Ara websiteRead more about īnanga at Te Waihora on the Te Waihora co-governance website
Te Waihora Lake EllesmerePlacete waihoraMapMap of the major waterways of Te Waihora catchmentMore InformationRead about īnanga on the Te Ara websiteRead more about īnanga at Te Waihora on the Te Waihora co-governance websiteAttribution
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Īnanga at Te Waihora Lake Ellesmere. Selwyn Stories, accessed 27/05/2026, https://selwynstories.selwynlibraries.co.nz/nodes/view/6527