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Print out the activity sheets below (choose from colour or b&w), cut out the images and ask children to place on the background picture to make a healthy or unhealthy home for tuna. Discuss the differences between the two using page three and the key below to help you. Can they come up with ways to make an unhealthy stream healthier?

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T4T ECE Tuna Healthy Home Activity Instructions

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Make these simple peg puppets using the template (pg.8) using paper, crayons, double-sided tape and wooden pegs. Create a display or puppet show to share what you have discovered about tuna.

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All about tuna/long-fin eel, for the littlies! Includes crafts, songs, videos and more.

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One page of the best bits to know.

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Great underwater photos

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If you're following our Facebook group you are familiar with the photography of Jason Gunn Burton. Jason writes:

"These are New Zealand longfin eels, which are the largest and longest lived freshwater eels in the world.

They are threatened with extinction and the population is in decline.
They face alot of issues unfortunately, including commercial fishing believe it or not.

They are nocturnal creatures but also optimistic hunters, so I'll take some old mince along, drop a bit in the water, wait 5 or so minutes and they'll come out.
I have about 4 spots around the Wellington area (capital city of New Zealand) where I feed longfin eels. I'm always searching creeks for New Eels.

I've been bitten a few times, hurts a bit.
They are not shy, remembering they are New Zealand's top freshwater predator so I guess they have nothing to fear."

Thank you Jason for allowing us to share your photography here!

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Longfin eels - the photography of Jason Gunn Burton

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If you're following our Facebook group you are familiar with the photography of Jason Gunn Burton. Jason writes: "These are New Zealand longfin eels, which are the largest and longest lived freshwater eels in the world. They are threatened with extinction and the population is in decline.

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NZ longfin eel are called 'tuna kuwharuwharu' in Te Reo Maori

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Download

The App

This Māori dictionary is now available as an app. With the iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, and Android app you can use the dictionary anywhere without the need to be online.

iPhone / iPad / Android

Buy

The Book

Te Aka Māori-English, English-Māori Dictionary and Index by John C Moorfield. This dictionary comprises a selection of modern and everyday language that will be extremely useful for learners of the Māori language.

More info

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This Māori dictionary is now available as an app. With the iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, and Android app you can use the dictionary anywhere without the need to be online. iPhone / iPad / Android Te Aka Māori-English, English-Māori Dictionary and Index by John C Moorfield.

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What is inquiry learning?

Inquiry learning is a constructivist approach, where the student is at the centre of learning. Students form and develop a learning inquiry to investigate aspects of the topic and build a depth of understanding through questioning, thinking and research.

This teaching model incorporates a variety of thinking skills, information literacy skills and integrates well with information technology.

An inquiry learning journey starts with an open-ended question, followed by students collaborating with each other, showing what they have learned and assessing themselves and each other multiple times. It involves developing a solution using evidence to support the claim and presented through multi-methods of communication.

Page one of inquiry learning cycle

All of our latest education resources on this website are based on our integrated inquiry learning cycle. The cycle is a process for guiding student directed learning and co-constructing a pathway of inquiry when learning in a conservation context.

An inquiry learning approach provides a project management framework to support students to plan their investigations and implement their actions. Integrated curriculum, project based learning builds on knowledge, skills and perspectives already developed and allows students to apply these and contribute to real-life authentic action.

Using the inquiry cycle

Teachers and students can select material and parts of activities from the resources to suit their learning inquiries.

The resources are not meant to be taught from beginning to end, but can serve as a pool of ideas to draw from.
Download the inquiry learning cycle (PDF, 1,396K)
Viewing files on this page

If you can't view these files contact us to request another format.
About our files

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Inquiry learning is a constructivist approach, where the student is at the centre of learning. Students form and develop a learning inquiry to investigate aspects of the topic and build a depth of understanding through questioning, thinking and research. This teaching model incorporates a variety of thinking skills, information literacy skills and integrates well with information technology.

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Eels migrate up streams as elvers to find suitable adult habitat. After many years they return to the Pacific Ocean to breed and die.

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Any eel in New Zealand can be called 'tuna', but this is the longest lived (and the coolest, we think). While you might see them in freshwater, eventually they will travel out to the ocean to breed.

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Longfin eel life cycle | Learning | Taupō for Tomorrow

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Any eel in New Zealand can be called 'tuna', but this is the longest lived (and the coolest, we think). While you might see them in freshwater, eventually they will travel out to the ocean to breed.

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Tuna (the Māori word for eels) are important to Māori, but pressure on some species is resulting in their decline.

He taonga whakahirahira te tuna ki te Māori, engari nā runga i ngā kōkiritanga o te wā kua heke haere ētahi momo.

Whakapapa

There are different creation stories for tuna in Aotearoa. One narrative states that tuna was a child of Te Ihorangi who came from the union of Ranginui and Papatūānuku. Te Ihorangi's children included Ngōiro (the conger eel), Tuere (the blind eel) and tuna.

He maha ngā kōrero orokohanga mō te tuna i Aotearoa. E kī ana tētehi kōrero he tamaiti a Tuna nā Te Ihorangi, ā, nā Ranginui rāua ko Papatūānuku a Te Ihorangi. Ko Ngōiro rāua ko Tuere ētehi atu o ngā tamariki a Te Ihorangi.

Importance / Te noho taonga mai

Tuna are very important for tangata whenua and that is re-iterated through our literature. Many marae around the motu are adorned with carvings of tuna alongside their tupuna. They were heavily relied upon by our tupuna as a source of kai and important events were oftenscheduled around the harvesting of tuna. They were kaitiaki of our streams, rivers and lakes, they were a vehicle for knowledge transmission and they were used as environmental indicators.

He tino taonga te tuna ki te tangata whenua. Inā noa atu ngā kōrero mōna i ā tātou kōrero tuhituhi. He maha hoki ngā marae hōrapa nei i te motu e whakarākai ana i ngā whakairo ki te tuna i te taha tonu o ō rātou tūpuna. I whakawhirinaki atu ō tātou tūpuna ki te tuna hei kai, ka mutu, he mea āta whakarite ngā hui rangatira kia tū i te wā e hopungia ai te tuna. He kaitiaki i ngā manga, i ngā awa me ngā roto. He pātaka kōrero, he kaitohu hoki rātou i te wairua o te taiao.

He Kai

Tuna were one of the main sources of protein in the diets of our tupuna. They were a rich source of omega 3 and other essential fats and oils, and they were caught in abundance with relative ease.

Tuna can be stored live in 'pātaka tuna' for over twelve months and eaten as required. They can also be preserved or dried and kept for months. Easy storage of tuna provided tupuna with a good source of protein at a time when conventional refrigeration was not available.

Because tuna come in many different sizes, they are a very versatile food. We have found many creative ways in which to eat them: you can grill them, bake them, boil them and smoke them. You can jelly them, fry them, steam them ... you can cook them any way you like! You can experiment frugally, with tuna, in ways you may not be able to do with other fish or meat.

Ko te tuna tētehi o ngā kai pūmua matua ki ō tātou tūpuna. He tino putunga o te hinu 'omega 3' me ētehi atu ngako, he ngāwari ki te hopu, ā, makuru ana te riro mai.

Whakaputungia orangia ai te tuna i ngā pātaka tuna mō te tekau mā rua marama neke atu, ā, ka kaingia i te wā e pīrangitia ai. Kōtutungia ai, pāwharangia ai mō te hia nei ngā marama. Nā te mea he pēnei rawa te ngāwari ki te rokiroki i te tuna, ka māmā noa iho te whātoro atu hei kai pūmua i te wā o te kore hiko, o te kore whata tio.

Nā te mea he huhua ngā momo rahi o te tuna, he huhua anō tōna whakaritenga hei kai, arā, he rorerore, he tunu, he kōhua, he whakaauau, he petipeti, he parai, he tunu ki te koromahu - kei a koe te tikanga o te tunu. Nā te mea e makuru ana tēnei kai, e taea hoki te whakamātautau engari kāore e taea te pēnei i ētehi atu ika, mīti rānei, he moumou te mutunga iho.

Te mahi kai

Māori have used mātauranga to sustainably take tuna without adversely affecting the population. This knowledge emerged from observations of their life cycle, habitat needs and migration patterns. Today, tangata whenua have customary harvest rights over tuna fisheries in their rohe for special events and hold 20% of the commercial fishery. However, there has been a steady decline in numbers of tuna, encouraging iwi to reduce or completely restrict harvesting in their rohe. Numerous iwi around the country have chosen not to fish their allocated commercial quota to assist in the revitalisation of customary harvest.

Nā te mātauranga o te Māori i mōhio ai ia ki te tiaki me te hopu tuna i kore ai i pā he mate ki tōna rahinga. Nō te aronga a te Māori ki te taiao tōna mōhio ki ngā hurihanga oranga, ki ōna kāinga noho me ōna hekenga. I ēnei rā kei te tangata whenua tō rātou anō mana hopu tuna ki ngā nōhanga tuna i ō rātou rohe mō ngā hui rangatira, ā, e 20% te whiwhinga mai i te puna ika tauhokohoko. Ahakoa rā, he rōnaki tonu te heke haere o te tuna. Nā konā kua whakatau ētehi iwi ki te whakaiti i te hopunga, ki te whakatū rāhui rānei i ō rātou rohe. He maha tonu ngā iwi huri noa i te motu kua tatū kia kaua e mau i a rātou te rahinga tauhokohoko kua tohua ki a rātou, mei kore tēnei e āwhina ki te whakapiki ake i te rahi o te tuna tērā e mau mō ngā hui.

Longfin eel / Tuna pakikau roa
Image: Philippe Gerbeaux

The many names of tuna / Ngā tini ingoa o te tuna

Tuna have many names depending on their size, colouration, and maturity, among other things. Many iwi also have their own name for certain varieties of tuna. Some examples include:

Hao: about 30 cm in length

Pāpaka: small, black tuna captured at the beginning of their migration but are typically returned because of their size (small)

Puhi: a very sleek, firm-bodied tuna with light colouration; captured en mass during their migration.

Riko: about 1 m long with a greenish back

Paranui: dark with a thick skin

Matamoe: large type of eel; brown and grey in colour

Kōkopu tuna (also a name for galaxias species): this variey of eel is about 1.8 m long and weighs about 30 kg

Kūwharuwharu/ōrea/kirirua: large variety that can grow up to 2 m long and weigh about 50 kg

Tahimaro: a very large, black tuna; often territorial and sometimes aggressive

Ruahine: thick-bodied, large longfin tuna; often caught in the migration. These are typically returned.

Tuna are known to pākehā as simply the longfin ( Anguilla dieffenbachii) and shortfin eel ( Anguilla australis).

He maha rawa ngā ingoa o te tuna nā runga i te āhua o te rahi, te tae, te pakeke me ētehi atu mea. Kei tēnā iwi, kei tēnā iwi ōna anō ingoa mō ngā momo tuna. Hei tauira ēnei:

Hao: e 30 cm pea te roa

Pāpaka: he iti, he tuna mangu ka hopungia i te tīmatanga o te hekenga, engari whakahokia ai nā tō rātou itinga

Puhi: he whīroki, he tuna tinana pakari, he teatea te kiri; he inati te rahi ka mau i te hekenga

Riko: 1 m te roa, he āhua karera tōna tuarā

Paranui: he kākarauri, he kiri mātotoru

Matamoe: he tuna nui; he parauri, he kiwikiwi ōna tae

Kōkopu tuna (he ingoa anō hoki tēnei mō ngāi 'Galaxias'): 1.8 m te roa, e 30 kg pea te taumaha o tēnei momo tuna

Kūwharuwharu/ōrea/kirirua: he nui tēnei momo, ka tupu kia 2 m te roa, kia 50 kg pea te taumaha

Tahimaro: he tuna nui, he pango hoki; he tuna āta wawao i tōna kāinga noho, he tukituki hoki

Ruahine: he mātotoru te tinana, he tuna pakikau nui; hopungia ai i te hekenga o te tuna. Whakahokia ai ēnei momo.

He iti te wehewehe a te Pākehā i te momo tuna - he 'pakikau roa', he 'pakikau poto' rānei, ka mutu i reira.

Longfin eel with fungal growth on lips / Tuna pakikau roa me te hekaheka i ngā ngutu
Alton Pirrie

Healthy eels mean healthy water / He tuna ora, he wai ora

Tuna are able to help iwi assess water quality and habitat diversity. As longfin eels are quite susceptible to pollution, their health is also an indication of the health of the ecosystem in which they live. Tuna are examined for disease on the skin, fins, and mouth. In times of very poor water quality the lips of the tuna become completely covered with fungal growth, which may prevent it from feeding. This sometimes results in the death of tuna.

Mā te tuna ia ka mōhiotia e te iwi te kounga o te wai me te nōhanga. Nā te mea ka raru te tuna pakikau roa i te para, ko tō rātou oranga tētehi tohu o te oranga o te rohe e noho rā rātou. He mea āta tirotiro te tuna mehemea kua pā te mate ki te kiri, ki ngā pakikau me te waha. I te wā ka kino te paru o te wai, ka kapi katoa ngā ngutu o te tuna i te hekaheka, ā, e kore pea e taea e ia te kai. Ki te pērā rawa te kino, ko te mate pea te otinga atu.

Threats to tuna / Ngā mōreareatanga ki te tuna

The life cycle of tuna is very complex, and during different life stages they rely on different habitats to live in and migrate through. This makes it very difficult for us to sustainably harvest in this day and age due to the high demand on our natural resources and the increase in Aotearoa's population.

Pollution, the building of dams, loss of vegetation and overfishing are the major threats to tuna populations in Aotearoa. Coupled with their life cycle it is very difficult for tuna populations to increase without our help. To learn more about how to sustainably fish in your rohe please contact your local hapū. You can also help by not taking the large female breeding tuna. The 'big' tuna are nearly always the females. Please leave these tuna so they can breed. You can help by planting harakeke and grasses to provide good feeding and refuge places for our tuna. If you are a keen whitebaiter you could help by checking your early morning catch for glass eels and returning these to the stream. Night fishing is illegal and will contain many glass eels. Ensure people know that fishing at night is illegal and damages our tuna fishery.

He tuatinitini te hurihanga oranga o te tuna, ā, i ngā huringa o tōna oranga ka whakawhirinaki atu ki ngā nōhanga rerekē hei kāinga, hei wāhi hekenga hoki mōna. Nā tēnei āhuatanga he uaua ki te hopu i runga i te tika i ēnei rā, nā te nui o ngā pēhitanga i ngā rawa me te nui haere o te tangata i Aotearoa.

Ko te pokenga, te whakatū matatara, te matenga o te māheuheu me te inati o te mahi tuna, he mōrearea katoa ki te rahinga o te tuna i Aotearoa. Nā ēnei āhuatanga katoa, me tino uaua e piki ai te rahi o te tuna ki te kore e āwhinatia, e tautokona e te tangata. Kia mōhio ake ai koe ki te mahi tuna i runga i te tika i tōu rohe, me whakapā atu ki tōu anō hapū. He tautoko nui te kore e hopu i ngā uwha whakaputa uri. I te nuinga o te wā he uwha ngā tuna nunui. Tēnā koa waiho ēnei kia mahi i tā rātou mahi. He tautoko nui anō te whakatō harakeke, pātītī, hei wāhi whāngai, hei taumarumaru hoki mō te tuna. Mehemea koe he tangata mahi īnanga, e taea hoki e koe te tautoko mā te tirotiro i tō kupenga i te atatū, mō te tūpono he tuna 'kōataata' kei roto, ka whakahoki ai ki te awa. He takahi ture te hao īnanga i te pō, ka mutu, inā te nui o ngā momo tuna nei ka mau ki te kupenga. Me whai kia mōhio te tangata he takahi ture te mahi īnanga i te pō, he tūkino i te tuna tōna mutunga iho.

Telling tuna apart / Te momo tuna

You can tell these two species apart by some of their characteristics:

Ka mōhio koe ki te rerekētanga o tētehi i tētehi atu mā ēnei āhuatanga ō rāua:

In the past our tupuna transmitted large bodies of knowledge intergenerationally through oral transmission (speaking) and through practical transmission (the activity of eeling). Nowadays we get most of our food from the supermarket, and thus the opportunity to transmit the learning of the past has been diminished. It is important to continue both these streams of learning - oral and practical. If you are keen on persuing this form of education contact your hapū or wānanga.

I mua rā he nui te mātauranga i ākona ki ngā whakatupuranga mā te kōrero me te mahi ā-ringa. I ēnei rā, nō te toa hokomaha te nuinga o ā tātou kai, nā konei i heke ai te ākona o te mātauranga o mua mō te wāhi ki ngā kai. He mea hira te whai kia mau tonu ēnei ara e rua o te ako, arā, mā te kōrero me te mahi. Me he kaingākau koe ki te whai i tēnei momo mātauranga, me whakapā atu ki tō hapū, tō wānanga rānei.

Tuna life cycle / Te hurihanga ora o te tuna

Eel diagram - look how hard it is to be a tuna! Shaded images behind the tuna are the barriers or pressures that tuna face throughout their life cycle e.g. drop culverts, dams, predation, human consumption. View larger (PDF, 1,120K)
Download the information on this page as a brochure (PDF, 1,380K)
Information collected in collaboration with Te Wānanga o Raukawa.

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Tuna (the Māori word for eels) are important to Māori, but pressure on some species is resulting in their decline. He taonga whakahirahira te tuna ki te Māori, engari nā runga i ngā kōkiritanga o te wā kua heke haere ētahi momo. There are different creation stories for tuna in Aotearoa.

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It's no wonder tuna are considered a taonga (treasure), having graced lakes, swamps, rivers and streams in Aotearoa for more than 23 million years. Tuna kuwharuwharu play an important role in Māori culture and have been studied for many generations to determine life cycles, ages, habitat and migration patterns. Female longfins, as they're commonly known, reach breeding maturity at anywhere up to 100 years of age. They will then swim to Tonga where they lay millions of eggs before they die. They can grow to be more than 2 metres long making them the largest eel in the world.

The longfin eel is a truly amazing creature and we hope that by using these resources you, your children and/ or students come to love the tuna as much as we do. This eel is endemic to New Zealand and is also our top freshwater predator which makes them extremely important to the biodiversity of our waterways.

Sadly, eel populations are now declining, and they are considered an 'At Risk' species. The main cause of the decline has been human activity: pollution, deforestation, hunting, dams and culverts are all threats. The longfin eel sure does have a lot to deal with these days. These resources will help you understand more about these special creatures, their lives, threats and what we can do to help them. Dive right in and enjoy!

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Tamariki For Tuna - Longfin Eel Educational Resources - Conservation Volunteers New Zealand

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Species: Tuna / Longfin eel / Anguilla eieffenbachii Location: New Zealand - Endemic Status: At Risk - Declining Threats: Habitat loss and degradation, eel fishing, barriers to migration, pollution and high nutrient levels reducing oxygen in water are all threats to survival. Our work: Habitat restoration and improvement through riparian planting, litter clean ups, monitoring and education.

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Great website about all things longfin eel

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Great website about all things longfin eel

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Manaaki Tuna is a multi-disciplinary group comprised of academics, teachers and researchers from Massey University, iwi, hapu and environmental groups who have joined forces to address the plight of the tuna - the longfin eel. The group supports the call for a moratorium (rahui) on the commercial harvest of the tuna initiated by freshwater ecologist, Dr Mike Joy, and is looking at ways to link ecosystem science and matauranga Maori perspectives with community management approaches required to protect the species.
Learn More...

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Manaaki Tuna is a multi-disciplinary group comprised of academics, teachers and researchers from Massey University, iwi, hapu and environmental groups who have joined forces to address the plight of the tuna - the longfin eel.

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In English & Te Reo

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Species colouring sheets!

There are simple and slightly more complex versions of each species - each has an image to colour and some fun facts. We've called them 'junior' and 'senior', but whatever works for you! Pictures shown are for the senior versions.

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Freshwater Colouring-in | Classroom Resources | Taupo for Tomorrow

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Species colouring sheets! There are simple and slightly more complex versions of each species - each has an image to colour and some fun facts. We've called them 'junior' and 'senior', but whatever works for you! Pictures shown are for the senior versions.

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All about tuna/long-fin eel, for the littlies! Includes crafts, songs, videos and more.

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Please view to make sure appropriate before showing tamariki

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MIGRATION VIBES - The New Zealand Longfin Eel (School friendly)

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Watercress tuna and the children of Champion Street by Patricia Grace; illustrated by Robyn Kahukiwa. 

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Watercress tuna and the children of Champion Street by Patricia Grace; illustrated by Robyn Kahukiwa. 

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Watercress tuna and the children of . Available in most local libraries and New Zealand bookshops.

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What special gifts does the magical tuna bring to the children of Champion Street?

An unusual tuna (eel) with a magic throat leaps out of his stream and visits a number of children in Champion Street. To each he gives an article of clothing for dancing, or a musical instrument. The children are all from different ethnic communities living in New Zealand. On Champion Street the children all come together and dance all day and all night.

Written by the celebrated Patricia Grace, and with beautiful illustrations by artist Robyn Kahukiwa, this is a very special story for all the children of Aotearoa, and will be enjoyed by those four years and older.

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Watercress Tuna & the Children of Champion Street by Patricia Grace

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What special gifts does the magical tuna bring to the children of Champion Street? An unusual tuna (eel) with a magic throat leaps out of his stream and visits a number of children in Champion Street. To each he gives an article of clothing for dancing, or a musical instrument.

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Eel Song by Amber McEwan ; illustrated by Sonia Frimmel. 2016. 

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Eel Song by Amber McEwan ; illustrated by Sonia Frimmel. 2016. 

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Home > Products > EEL SONG by Amber McEwan | illustrated by Sonia Frimmel

High in the hills where the birds still speak,

In a hole, in a pool, in a silver-cold creek.

Tuna, longfin, taniwha sleeps,

Dark, dark, dark in the velvet deeps.

She feeds and she rests in the high hill ranges,

Grows old, old, old while the whole world changes.

Join Aotearoa's amazing longfin eels on their migration from the silver-cold streams, rivers and lakes in which they grew up, to the tropical Pacific Islands far away. Once there, the longfins spawn and when the eggs hatch, tiny, leaf-like baby eels drift on ocean currents back to Aotearoa.

About Amber and Sonia...

Amber is a freshwater biologist who is passionate about conservation, particularly of New Zealand's freshwater ecosystems. She has a special love and appreciation for eels, and does a lot of work trying to protect them from their various threats - especially longfin eels. Writing this book is just one more way for Amber to share her love and knowledge of the longfin eel, and the amazing migratory journey that this species undertakes. Her two small children love eels too, and enjoy feeding the local longfins in the stream at the bottom of their street.

Sonia is based in the Waikato - once the land of a thousand wetlands and eel/tuna heaven. She thinks she has the best job - researching, writing for, and designing signs and brochures about our nature and history; drawing pictures of birds, beasts and plants for signs and publications; and occasionally making colourful paintings of New Zealand's wonderful wild places. This is her first foray into illustrating children's books but she has published her own guidebook for walks and bike rides in the Waikato and King Country.

Paperback | 210 x 210 mm | 978-0-9922610-6-1 | 12 December 2016 | Fiction | 18 pages |

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EEL SONG by Amber McEwan | illustrated by Sonia Frimmel

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Home > Products > EEL SONG by Amber McEwan | illustrated by Sonia Frimmel High in the hills where the birds still speak, In a hole, in a pool, in a silver-cold creek. Tuna, longfin, taniwha sleeps, Dark, dark, dark in the velvet deeps.

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The New Zealand longfin eel ( Anguilla dieffenbachii) is New Zealand's only endemic freshwater eel. Our shortfin eel ( Anguilla australis) is also found in Australia and some Pacific Islands. We also have a recently introduced longfin eel from Australia ( Anguilla reinhardtii).

Longfin eels can be identified because the dorsal (top) fin is longer and extends further forward than the anal (bottom) fin. In the shortfin species, the dorsal and anal fins are of a similar length.

Our native longfin species has been an important food resource for Māori for hundreds of years. Consequently, Māori have extensive knowledge of the longfin eel's migratory routes. Unfortunately, the New Zealand longfin is classified as a threatened species because of its gradual decline in numbers.

Life cycle

The life cycle of eels has long been a mystery. Its complex stages are still not fully understood because longfins have never been seen spawning. This is what scientists think happens.

The eels breed only once at the end of their life cycle. In the autumn, these adult eels leave the rivers and streams and head for the ocean. From there, they make a long journey of thousands of kilometres to a place somewhere in the South Pacific ocean. Scientists think the spawning grounds may be close to Tonga.

The females then release between 1-20 million eggs. The manner in which the eggs are fertilised by the male eels is still unknown. The mature eels then die. The eggs float to the surface, hatching into very flat looking, leaf-like larvae called leptocephali. These larvae then float on ocean currents back to New Zealand. Scientists think this can take about 15-17 months, although there are no records of capturing these larvae.

Once back in New Zealand waters, the larvae change into glass eelstransparent juvenile eels. The glass eels enter estuaries where they develop colour and become elvers - small adult longfin eels. The elvers then swim upstream to find a place where they can grow into adults. A decade or more later (anywhere between 10-100 years), adult eels head out to sea to spawn and the cycle continues.

Elvers

Elvers can climb as well as swim. Moving upstream often requires the ability to negotiate waterfalls, steep uphill rocks and even dams. As long as the surface is wet and rough, the elvers climb their way upstream. Surface tension holds them to rock faces. Eels are nocturnal so they move mostly through the night. During the day, they seek cover in cracks under waterfalls. Elvers have been observed climbing vertical surfaces up to 43 m tall. They lose their climbing ability once they reach about 12 cm (probably because they become too heavy to be held by surface tension). Elvers also slither overland through wet grass to get to remote and inaccessible waterways. They can migrate over 130 km inland over one summer. Longfin eels have been found up to 361 km inland in freshwater streams and high country lakes.

Food

Longfin eels are omnivores. This means they are general or opportune feeders - eating both plant and animal life, depending on what's available. As elvers, they mostly eat insect larvae, worms and water snails. As they get bigger, their diet includes small fish, crayfish and small birds, such as ducklings.

Threats

The decline of longfin eels can be attributed to a number of factors, overfishing being one of them. New Zealanders showed an interest in the longfin eel as a commercial fishery in the 1960s. Fishing numbers increased well into the 1970s when it became apparent that significant stock numbers were reduced.

Drainage, hydro development, irrigation schemes and river diversions also affect eel numbers by reducing their habitat. Culverts and dams impede or prevent their migration.

Water pollution also affects eels. Sewage and effluent from industry discharged into rivers and nutrients leaching from soils into waterways can result in large quantities of oxygen being removed from the water. The result of this oxygen depletion is that the eels will either die or move away. Toxins in the water such as minerals and hydrocarbons from mining tailings can also kill eels.

Nature of science

Activity ideas

Useful links

Published 19 March 2014

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The New Zealand longfin eel (Anguilla dieffenbachii) is New Zealand's only endemic freshwater eel. Our shortfin eel (Anguilla australis) is also found in Australia and some Pacific Islands. We also have a recently introduced longfin eel from Australia (Anguilla reinhardtii).

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Zoo Tales - Quirky and curious longfin eels

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To be released Oct 2020

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Join storyteller and arts educator, Tanya Batt, for a series of weekly webinars to explore the material on the Dance Upon Our Earth album.
The course will include six one- hour online tutorials via the Facebook platform. The live sessions will offer participants an opportunity to in-depth learning of the six learning areas on the album.

Session will include teaching videos of children dancing the stories, extension activities and the opportunity to ask questions.
Cost: $100 per person.
This fee includes

Dance Upon Our Earth album (digital download)

Teaching notes illustrated by Kristy Barlow

First access to videos of children dancing the stories (ad-free)

Live tutorials and access to tutorial videos to watch later

Places are limited.

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Dance Upon Our Earth - Tanya Batt's Imagined Worlds

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Join storyteller and arts educator, Tanya Batt, for a series of weekly webinars to explore the material on the Dance Upon Our Earth album. The course will include six one- hour online tutorials via the Facebook platform. The live sessions will offer participants an opportunity to in-depth learning of the six learning areas on the album.

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However, many communities are reporting that both the abundance and size of these freshwater taonga are declining. Te Kūwaha, NIWA's National Centre for Māori Environmental Research has been working with whānau, hapū and iwi for more than a decade to co-develop methods for the protection, restoration and economic development of these species.

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The Water Safety Code - AdventureSmart - NZ Search & Rescue Council

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Following the Water Safety Code's 4 important rules will help you to stay safe and enjoy the swimming and water recreation areas around New Zealand