A key focus of this project is to support private landowners by assessing any in-stream structures (such as culverts) and completing remediation when required and within the scope of the project funding.
This video explains more about Fish Passage.(external link)
The articles below will keep you up to date with this long-term Freshwater Improvement Fund project as it progresses.
Read more about our project on their website(external link) and check out the video they have created.
These reports present findings from over five years of work to reconnect freshwater habitats across the Tasman District by remediating instream barriers that prevent native migratory fish such as īnanga, kōaro, longfin eel, and banded kōkopu from reaching upstream environments.
Helping Fish Across Tasman – A Community Effort
After five busy years supporting biodiversity in Tasman’s rivers and wetlands, our Jobs for Nature Fish Passage project comes to an end this month.
Looking back on what’s been achieved across the region, there’s plenty to be proud of — not just in terms of numbers, but in what this work means for our freshwater ecosystems and the people who care for them.
What was the project about? Many of Tasman’s streams and rivers include structures such as culverts, fords and small bridges. Some of these can make it difficult — or impossible — for native freshwater fish to move upstream and downstream to feed, spawn and complete their life cycles.
A fish passage assessment involves checking an in‑stream structure to see whether fish can move through it. Where problems were identified, remediation work was carried out where possible to improve the chances of success for fish trying to move through.
The statistics reflect the scale of the work undertaken:
This work was made possible through funding from the Ministry for the Environment’s Jobs for Nature initiative, helping create jobs while delivering long‑term environmental benefits.
None of this work would have been possible without the support and cooperation of landowners across the Tasman region. By allowing access to waterways on their land and engaging openly with field teams, landowners played a crucial role in improving fish passage and reconnecting habitats.
For ratepayers, the project has delivered a regional understanding of fish passage issues that didn’t previously exist. This information will help Council:
We extend sincere thanks to our project partners Ngā Iwi o Te Tau Ihu o Te Waka a Māui, contractors, and technical experts — including Olleycology Ltd, ATS Environmental, Cawthron Institute, Seamless, NIWA and Kūmanū Environmental— as well as the many landowners and community members who supported this work.
The project has reconnected habitats, built community stewardship, and created data that will guide future decisions through a regional Fish Passage Action Plan.
Our Fish Passage Remediation project is trickling to a close, with some outstanding results across all parts of the Tasman District – from the valleys of Murchison to Golden Bay’s western wilderness.
In fact, we have met most of our outcomes a year ahead of schedule. As of May 2025:
This was due to the incredible efforts of our field team from Kūmānu Environmental who not only identified and remediated barriers but played a key role in educating landowners about fish ecology.
This collaborative approach – welcomed by landowners – has helped reconnect habitats and foster long-term community awareness and stewardship. While some sites have shown immediate ecological benefits, the true value of this work will unfold over time.
By remediating in-stream barriers like perched culverts, the work has improved fish passage and supported biodiversity in freshwater ecosystems – bridging the gap until full structure replacements can occur.
As the project enters its final phase, the focus has shifted to collating data and insights gathered over the past few years from assessments and remediation monitoring.
This information will play a crucial role in guiding future decision-making and shaping a regional Fish Passage Action Plan. The legacy of this work will extend well beyond the physical structures remediated – laying the groundwork for long-term freshwater ecosystem restoration across the Tasman District.
As autumn begins to lift water levels, the Tasman Jobs for Nature Fish Passage project continues endeavours to protect fish populations.
With 89% of the costs covered by the Ministry for the Environment through the Freshwater Improvement Fund, this initiative aids Tasman landowners with ensuring in-stream structures are fish-friendly, allowing natural migration patterns.
In just two and a half years, nearly 8,000 hours of work have been dedicated to this effort resulting in over 4,400 checks and 765 improvements to in-stream structures like culverts. This has already surpassed one of the initial five-year goals, showing the dedication and speed of the work being done.
Currently, the project focus is on completing work in Golden Bay due to its high biodiversity values. Over 80% of privately owned in-stream structures in Golden Bay have now been assessed, thanks to the tireless work of the Kūmānu Environmental field team.
The project’s success so far owes much to the local landowners, who have been incredibly supportive, with a 93% participation rate. Their cooperation is making a real difference in preserving our aquatic wildlife and setting a precedent for environmental care that will benefit future generations.
This project is funded until June 2026 and work is being carried out throughout the entire Tasman region. Recent work in St Arnaud has moved swiftly with the field team anticipating entering the Murchison area this spring. Landowners who may benefit from the project will be sent further information by mail and contacted directly by the contractor.
For more information contact [email protected] or [email protected].
Tasman District Council is pleased to share that its latest publication on the efficacy of fish passage remediation methods, as part of the Jobs for Nature Fish Passage Project, is now available. This comprehensive study offers valuable insights into the effectiveness of low cost culvert remediation techniques for enhancing aquatic connectivity.
The findings indicate that the project's techniques are significantly enhancing the passage of native fish, particularly for various "climbing" species. The implementation of flexible baffles has proven successful in facilitating the upstream movement of īnanga, even in culvert gradients as steep as 8%. Further assessments planned for spring 2024 aim to refine these methods, ensuring optimal support for the passage of "non-climbing" species such as īnanga.
This work demonstrates Tasman’s commitment to ecological restoration and the protection of our natural waterways. Dive into the full report to learn more about how we're making a difference for our finned friends and their habitats.
Read the full report. (pdf 2.5 MB)
Special thanks to Olleycology Ltd. for their significant contribution to this work. Also to Cawthron Institute for their role as an advisor and author.
Rubber ramps and mussel rope attached at downstream outlet of culverts provide surfaces which support different species to move up and into a structure.
Flexible baffles installed inside a culvert to alter water flow and provide areas for fish to rest.
As part of our Freshwater Improvement Fund work to improve fish diversity and abundance across Tasman, we are pleased to say that the next phase of our Fish Passage Project is taking place in Tophouse / St Arnaud.
The Tasman Jobs for Nature Fish Passage Project is a five-year programme running until June 2026 assessing and carrying out simple structure ‘fixes’ to make them fish-friendly.
With the support of landowners, we will enable fish to complete their natural life cycles.
Our shift to Tophouse and St Arnaud represents a continuation of our efforts in other parts of the District, with fish in Golden Bay, Moutere, Tapawera and Waimea already enjoying waterways that are easier to navigate.
One key focus of this project is to support private landowners by assessing any in-stream structures (such as culverts) and completing remediation when required and within the scope of the project funding.
If you have an in-stream structure on your land, a team of fish passage experts from Kūmānu Environmental are visiting private land to help connect waterways and will be in touch with landowners in the coming days to explain how they can help.
This project is funded by Tasman District Council and the Ministry for the Environment with the support of local iwi – in the hope of assessing all structures on private land in Tasman.
This work is completely free to landowners and is generally simple to carry out.
For more information contact: [email protected] or [email protected].
With the support of landowners across the District, our Tasman Jobs for Nature Fish Passage Project is on track.
This five-year project is all about making Tasman waterways passable for our native fish.
A field team assesses any in-stream structures (like culverts) to see if fish can pass through. If they can’t, or are unlikely to, we try and fix that with the use of materials such as rubber aprons, mussel spat rope and baffles.
As of August 2023, 2,705 of 4,350 assessments have been completed. This project is primarily focused on privately owned land and has had strong support from landowners as 95% of those approached in years one and two provided access.
This mapping of privately owned structures will be valuable data for the fish passage action plans required from every region.
In year three of this five-year project, the field team will be focusing on assessing and remediating efforts in two new areas: Appleby/Wakefield and the south and east of Tākaka.
Landowners with potential in-stream structures will receive a notice in the mail to help them better understand what is involved. And that it is free.
Monitoring is underway at six sites with a significant amount of work planned for this spring to help evaluate the effectiveness of remediations or “fixes” used by the project.
Both the fish passage and wetland projects continue to work in partnership with iwi on monitoring, mātauranga Māori reports and wānanga for rangatahi.
The Tasman Jobs for Nature Fish Passage Project assesses and fixes in-stream structures on private land to help fish get upstream.
This work is free to landowners. It involves a small field team visiting to visually check waterway crossings and in-stream structures, such as culverts, for any barriers to fish moving through.
Barriers can include if a structure is perched, undercut, too steep or blocking water flow, if water is too fast or flow is lost through a structure.
If a barrier is found, the team can carry out work to make it easier for fish to pass through. Each fix takes around 15 to 30 minutes, with the use of materials such as rubber aprons, mussel spat rope and baffles.
These low impact fixes for existing structures may require more permanent solutions at a later time. However, it will certainly make life easier for the fish for the foreseeable future.
The field team (Kūmanū Environmental) is currently visiting properties in the Moutere and Tākaka areas this autumn.
With the support of landowners across the District, the project aims to complete 4,350 assessments and 1,655 fixes between July 2021 and June 2026. A key aim of the project is to complete whole catchments to better connect waterways for fish.
This Tasman Jobs for Nature Project is funded by Ministry for the Environment and Tasman District Council.
If you are keen to know more or would like advice on installing new or existing structures, contact [email protected].
The Tasman Jobs for Nature Fish Passage Project is entering a period of acceleration. Currently in year two of five, the project focuses on assessing and remediating in stream structures on private land in Tasman.
Residents in the Motueka Westbank and Collingwood areas may see our team as they visit properties as part of our efforts to improve fish passage.
What does this mean? Well, we’ll look at in stream structures like culverts to see if fish can pass through. If they can’t, or are unlikely to, we try and fix that. How? With the use of materials such as rubber aprons, mussel spat rope and baffles. It usually takes around 15 to 30 minutes, then we are on our way again.
With the valued efforts of our contractor field team from Kūmanū Environmental and the support of landowners across the District, the project has made some significant achievements in our first year.
In year one, 809 assessments and 145 remediations were achieved, with the focus areas being the valleys around Motueka and Tapawera.
As with any long-term project, we have also learnt plenty in the first year which will help us with our planning and execution going forward.
Our year two expectations involve having over 1,400 assessments and 504 remediations completed.
We expect to complete 4,350 assessments and 1,566 remediations throughout the five-year project.
Read more about our project on their website and check out the video they have created.
Children at Tapawera Area School received an amazing learning experience on May 4 with a full day of hands-on education about local freshwater species, freshwater ecosystems, and fish migration.
Organised by Enviroschools Tasman and Tapawera Area School to deepen the work students have been doing on freshwater education and local river testing and research, the workshop benefited from the combined resources of the Jobs for Nature culvert remediation work led by Tasman District Council, as well as the Department of Conservation, and Whitebait Connection.
As well as looking at the importance of passable culverts to support fish migration, kids were taught about the impact of pest species on our waterways.
The day began with an informative presentation from Jobs for Nature Fish Passage Project Manager Kerry South, demonstrating how farmers and landowners can make their culverts fish-friendly as they head upstream to breed.
Kerry is overseeing our Jobs for Nature project funded by the Ministry for the Environment and Tasman District Council to improve fish diversity and abundance in the Tasman region. The focus of this work is to support private landowners by assessing instream structures and completing remediation where possible.
Children were then split into groups for games linking lakes, rivers and pest species and workshop rotation with Enviroschools facilitators and DOC staff, finding out about different aspects of our precious native fish and waterways
We are excited to be progressing our Jobs for Nature project to improve fish diversity and abundance in the Tasman region.
The focus of this fish passage work is to support private landowners by assessing any in-stream structures (such as culverts) and completing remediation when required and within the scope of the project funding.
This work is happening as part of the Government’s Jobs for Nature Freshwater Improvement Fund projects, made possible with funding provided by the Ministry for the Environment and Tasman District Council.
Currently work is being completed in Sherry River / Tadmor and beginning in Riwaka, Aorere Valley and selected areas of the Moutere as part of the start-up phase.
While only just the start, 200 assessments, 34 remediations and one fish survey have already been completed.
Once the initial start-up phase is complete, work will focus on the Golden Bay region, moving systematically by catchment. Over the five-year project, additional areas will be added.
Landowners with in-stream structures in waterways can expect to hear directly from the dedicated, trained team from Kūmānu Environmental (a division of Nelmac), who have been contracted to carry out the work.
The team will arrange a scheduled day to assess any in-structures and if possible, will remediate on the same visit or schedule a subsequent visit to complete.
The project team has prepared this document which contains lots of useful information about the Fish Passage project and answers some of the common questions.
Download the landowners information sheet. (pdf 668 KB)
The way is clear to begin work on our fish passage project to improve fish diversity and abundance throughout the District.
The programme is worth $2 million and is co-funded by the Ministry for the Environment and Tasman District Council as part of our wider Freshwater Improvement Fund partnership.
Work will start in Tōtaranui and Pōhara this summer and then continue throughout Golden Bay.
Over the five-year project duration, 4,350 in-stream structures will be assessed, with 1,566 remediations expected to occur.
At the same time, this project is adding local jobs and growing skill sets.
With the help and support of iwi and landowners, our teams will assess in-stream structures and carry out simple, quick remediations that will significantly improve fish passage.
Through iwi-led education events and Mātauranga Māori monitoring, this project also intends to improve local freshwater knowledge and foster kaitiakitanga.
For the fish, the work means they’ll be able to get home, have increased habitat access and ability to migrate as well as greater connection within catchments.
Our freshwater fish species are in trouble, 11 of the 20 species in Tasman are classified as ‘in decline’. Several bird species that mainly eat freshwater fish are also threatened.
Stream structures such as culverts, dams and weirs often block fish migration and impact stream health.
Around 75 percent of these fish species are migratory and require uninterrupted passage to access their “homes”.
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