Management of Rudd in Travis Wetland
Contract Report No. 4038
July 2016
Project Team:
Helen McCaughan – Report author
William Shaw – Peer review
Prepared for: Christchurch City Council
BACKGROUND
Travis Wetland is a Christchurch City Council (the Council) owned Nature Heritage
Park that has been set aside to preserve and develop the wetland for the education and
enjoyment of everyone. Covering 119 hectares, it is the largest freshwater wetland
remaining in Christchurch. It is a modified wetland, consisting of a main pond
(4.0 hectares), with a complex of smaller ponds, waterways and dry areas that all play
an important role in the protection and restoration of lowland wetland plant and
animal communities (Plate 1). The Wetland is connected to the Ōtākaro/Avon River
via Corsers Drain and Lake Kate Sheppard.
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In February 2008, John Skilton, Council Ranger, contacted the Department of
Conservation after he found a dead rudd (Scardinius erythrophthalmus) near the main
pond. A photograph of the specimen was confirmed as rudd and this led to sampling
work being carried out in April 2008 by the Department of Conservation and the
Council. Several rudd were caught, as well as two indigenous species: common bully
(Gobiomorphus cotidianus) and shortfin eel (Anguilla australis). A short report was
prepared by the Department of Conservation to address rudd impacts and options for
their control at this site (McCaughan 2008).
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RUDD CONTROL PROGRAMME
Aim
The aim of the Department of Conservation and Council rudd control programme has
been to reduce the population within Travis Wetland to zero density in order to:
. Reduce impacts on biodiversity and water quality in the wetland; and
. Reduce the likelihood of rudd spreading throughout the Avon/Heathcote
catchment and into other catchments.
Read more about how the control program was instigated and the successful outcome in this pdf ( 2 MB )