DSC_7115 Pouched lamprey (Geotria australis) researchers searching a stream for ammocoete larva which live buried in the mud for the first four years or so of their life, before eventually transforming into macropthalmia, and migrating downstream to the sea.
DSC_7196 Pouched lamprey (Geotria australis) NIWA freshwater scientists Don Jellyman and son Phillip, search for lamprey nests in a boulder strewn stream. Once the eggs hatch, the ammocoete larva drift downstream and bury themselves in the mud for the first four years or so of their life, before eventually transforming into macropthalmia, and migrating to the sea.
DSC_9908 Pouched lamprey, (Geotria australis) kanakana or piharau, are are an important customary fishery to Maori. Here customary 'monitors' Duncan Ryan and Keith Bradshaw, collect samples of adults, to regularly check the health and size of the migratory runs *