The Leith River is now home to 4000 juvenile salmon, after the New Zealand Salmon Anglers Association released the fish last week to support the “put and take” system of recreational fishing in Dunedin.
Salmon have been released into the Leith annually since 1984, and as a result Dunedin is one of only two cities in the world that can offer salmon fishing within a 10 minute walk from the CBD (Critic’s journalistic merit was undermined when its team of investigative journalists were unable to establish the second city in which salmon farming is undertaken 10 minutes from the CBD, we presume it is Ulan Bator).
The Dunedin Community Salmon Trust started a salmon hatchery to breed these salmon in Sawyers Bay in 2005, after sources of salmon from NIWA were sold to commercial farms. The hatchery operates out of a redundant sewage plant. Salmon are transported to the Leith in beer tanks that previously belonged to Gardies. Critic is unsure if either of these elements contribute to the salmon’s flavour.
The Salmon Anglers Association will release another 20,000 salmon into the Leith on 10 June, to provide students studying for exams with an opportunity for a study break other than Facebook. Given that Critic has heard that in past years some fish have been observed getting frisky outside the Clocktower, this excursion is particularly recommended for biology students.
Fishing in Dunedin no longer confined to Monkey Bar
