“The evening shoots proved very successful for mallard duck and there were some good bags of well-conditioned birds taken for the table.” Canada goose, though no longer a game bird, were also harvested in good numbers by hunters, he said. Fish and Game rangers were out at mai mai locations with police and were well-received by hunters. “There was a good compliance with licencing requirements, bag limits and the safe handling and use of firearms.” Fish and Game estimate up to 45,000 hunters around the country turned out for opening day which was highlighted by fine conditions over most of the lower North Island.
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Te Korowai O Ngaruahine Trust representatives are jubilant at achieving the removal of a disused concrete weir in the Kaupokonui Stream. From left Dion Luke, John Kahu, Kawarau Ngaia and Bart Jansma.
The demolition of an old concrete weir this week means eels and other native fish can swim freely up a South Taranaki stream for the first time in 120 years. There have been 20 years of debate about the Glenn Rd weir, in the Kaūpokonui Stream, five kilometres from the coast, which was first identified as a fish barrier in 2001.
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A digger moves in to demolish the Glenn Rd weir in the Kaūpokonui Stream.