Barrier installed to protect native fish in Central Otago

An endangered native fish is set to benefit from a barrier to protect it from bigger, introduced fish in Central Otago.

A one-metre high concrete weir was installed in Thomsons Creek near Omakau, in the Manuherikia River catchment, using government and regional council funding.

Its purpose was to keep trout and perch downstream of the habitat of Central Otago roundhead Galaxias, a kind of non-migratory whitebait.

Any introduced predator fish already living above the weir would be relocated downstream.

The regional council said it was an important project, as all of Otago's non-migratory galaxiid species were threatened with extinction.