Up the Creek | River Mouth

ANI'S DIARY
Hi, I'm Ani. Dion, Rick, and I are whitebaiting at the river mouth, but we're not having much luck. Where have all the whitebait gone?

We catch whitebait at the river mouth, but where do they live?

	In the sea, but they come into rivers for a look around.
	In rivers, but they swim downstream to the sea because they need salt.
	They hatch in rivers, grow into whitebait at sea, then return to the rivers.
	Anywhere they can find fresh water.

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Fritter fodder – what are whitebait?

Whitebait are baby freshwater fish. Even though all whitebait look similar, they grow into many different species of fish. These include short-jawed kokopu, giant kokopu, banded kokopu, ïnanga, koaro, and smelt.

The life cycle of the ïnanga

In spring, ïnanga (the most common kind of whitebait) swim in from the sea through river mouths and estuaries then travel upstream and grow into adult fish. After growing, they migrate downstream and mate in the plants on the edge of the river. When the river is high, the hatched eggs (larvae) are swept out to sea, where they grow into whitebait ... and the cycle begins again.

Essential estuaries

Estuaries and river mouths are important because most freshwater fish pass through on their way out to sea and back again. Streams that run through flat land and are close to the sea have the widest variety of native freshwater fish.