Those who attended a recent presentation by RDRMLtd on the proposed fish screen for the intake of the Rangitata Diversion Race on the Rangitata river would have been pleasantly surprised at the proposal and the commitment by the company to begin work as soon as possible. According to management 2021 will see pre-construction works (concrete elements) started, supply of all fish screen elements, development of fish capture and testing methods finalized, validation of design work completed and construction start - August 2021.
This is good news at last and progress will be closely watched by anglers and supporters of the river.

​The presentation (Power point) has been attached here for those interested persons and those who could not make it to the meeting where the it was presented. Opportunities for any questions to be answered can be directed through to <phil.dejoux@xtra.co.nz>
Click on the file to open it. It may take a while to download and you may have to have power point on your device.

It has been decided to realign the hatchery side of the by-pass stream to stop the erosion of the bank and prevent it from cutting into the site. The existing Gabion baskets have collapsed and water is seeping through and causing problems. The solution appears to be the placement of large rectangular concrete blocks which will give strength and stability to the bank and prevent water seepage.

​We are asking interested people and supporters to help us by sponsoring one or a number of these blocks thereby helping us complete the job in the next few months. It is a big job and around 70 blocks are required. The cost of each block is $35.00, so one can see how hard it would be for us as a volunteer group to manage on a limited budget. We are hoping there are a number of good folk who care about the hatchery and who would be prepared to help us. We have started on a small part of the stream and the system works well. The job will be completed next year.
Those wishing to help can contact a member of the hatchery group or make a deposit to the "Salmon & Riparian Support trust bank account. (ANZ Bank number 06-0889-0265272-00). Please tag the donation to "concrete block" with a name, or number, for a receipt to be sent. We will be very grateful for any donations received.

An update as to Hatchery happenings to date. soo

Approx 44,000 fingerlings have been transferred from the inside shed to the South raceway outside. They will have more capacity to grow in the outside raceway and will reman there until release.

The remainder have been spread out among the inside tanks. We plan to fin clip these inside fish quite soon and release them in January. We plan to release the fish in stages with the next release somewhere around March and the final group in June or around that time. There are about 60,000 fish (give or take) to release this season.

Volunteers have been busy at the hatchery tending to around 80,000 young salmon in the tanks, and catching up with the mountain of maintenance that is required every week. The fish are looking healthy and will be transferred to the outside raceways in the coming months. 

McKinnon's creek had a good flow in it during the winter months but lately it has dropped markedly due to the lack of rain and the irrigation season starting up. Its something we have to keep an eye on every day as lack of water going through the tanks could be disastrous. 

Click on photos to enlarge.
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7500 young salmon (from last years crop) were released on 23rd July into McKinnons Creek. These fish ( one year old) will travel down to the Rangitata river estuary then swim out to sea, spending the next 2 years in the ocean before returning. Click the video button to see the young fish preparing to migrate down the creek.

Click the video button to see the fish being transferred from the hatchery to McKinnons Creek.

​The Trust had its AGM on 5th July at hut 60 Rangitata Reserve South. There was a good attendance and many of the issues facing hatcheries were discussed.
The Committee consists of;
President: Phil De Joux
Treasure: Alan Brooks
Secretary: Paul Centofanti

Grant Rooney
Richard Davidson
Graeme Parnell
Raylene Clarke
Robert Clarke
Chris De Joux
Rex Hobbs
Linda Whipp
Jackie Manning
Tim Wakefield (ex officio )
Ross Edmonston
Fred Reddicliffe
Dennis Laplance                                              Chairmans Report to the AGM is attached below.

Work continued over the period with eggs being picked over, dead eggs removed and as the eggs hatched their progress was monitored daily. Once the egg sack dissolved away the small fish were known as being "zipped up". At this stage they were transferred to stainless steel tanks inside the shed where they are at time of writing. They all appear to be progressing well and they are learning to take food from the water surface.