Collapse Observer

New Zealand Salmon Anglers' Association president, Paul Hodgson said anglers saw the decline of the Rakaia River on a daily basis, describing the state of the fishery "like a death".

"The only thing I can say for absolute dead certain is that the salmon in the rivers are almost gone. The trout in the lowland rivers are almost gone from where they used to be. The Stokell's smelt are gone. All of these are indicators that something is not right. We're living the funeral. We've been living it for the past five or 10 years and nobody's done anything about it to have any significant impact on it."