New Zealand rivers - going, going, soon gone

Those flyfishers in the good old USA and elsewhere who cherish a vision of New Zealand trout streams as clear, sylvan waterways can forget it, unless they have very deep pockets and can work the luxury lodge circuit. <br><br>Down under we are facing a mammoth water quality crisis as the government seeks to double dairy farm production at all costs. There are now more dairy cows (6.7 million) than people (4 million) in New Zealand and the waste the animals produce is not properly managed. Much of it leaches into waterways.<br><br>Check out the website of New Zealand Federation of Freshwater Anglers Inc (<a href="http://www.nzffa.net">http://www.nzffa.net</a>) for an illuminating article by freshwater scientist&nbsp; Dr Mike Joy, showing how<br>dirty dairying is killing our rivers. It appears under the August 2014 "monthly archives". Naturally, the government is not happy with Dr Joy for speaking the truth. <br><br>If the article is too time-consuming, just Google "Dirty dairying New Zealand" and see what you find.<br><br type="_moz">

Wow - I recently got a book for my Kindle about fly fishing New Zealand. It was interesting, but given my age and condition I will never fish there. It is sad when a society has one priority that overruns all the rest. Sort of like the devastation of the rain forests to provide farming land. Some times we humans are very shortsighted when it comes to our enviornment.

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Originally Posted by Bluegill Budd

Wow - I recently got a book for my Kindle about fly fishing New Zealand. It was interesting, but given my age and condition I will never fish there. It is sad when a society has one priority that overruns all the rest. Sort of like the devastation of the rain forests to provide farming land. Some times we humans are very shortsighted when it comes to our enviornment.

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Thanks for offering your thoughts, Clint. Maybe the picture right now is not too bad in NZ, we have quite good fishing still, but we are on a downward spiral, for sure and it is the long term prospects, based on current government policies, which offer major threats. There is also a drought affecting the entire country at the moment (we're a small nation).

A book of historical interest on NZ fishing I can recommend is "Maui and Me", by Temple Sutherland. It was written in the1960s and tells of an angler's road trip across NZ, sea and river fishing all the way. He also interweaves history about the NZ native people (the Maori).

Used copies are on the ABE books website from US dealers. Sutherland was born in Scotland and from the way he writes, I can see the Scots valued education - it's a good read.

Best wishes.


Grant

I really feel bad for you and all people in New Zeland. It's a lot easier to maintain clean water than it is to clean contaminated water. I see it happening in the USA, too. There was a giant spill in Yellowstone park last week, I believe. I keep urging all of my nephews and all young people to get involved with conservation.

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Originally Posted by lastchance

I really feel bad for you and all people in New Zealand. It's a lot easier to maintain clean water than it is to clean contaminated water. I see it happening in the USA, too. There was a giant spill in Yellowstone park last week, I believe. I keep urging all of my nephews and all young people to get involved with conservation.

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Thanks for your comments.

The big dairy cooperative which dominates New Zealand farming put up another black mark recently (6 August).

It was convicted in court and find $NZ 174,000 for polluting a trout river. The judge gave company representatives a broadside but because top management are on huge salaries I doubt if it made any difference.

"Judge blasts Fonterra for putting productivity ahead of the environment" ran the headline.

The company is international.

I wonder what they are doing to us in North America?

http://www.fonterra.com/global/en/Ab.../North+America