Lake Āniwaniwa
Lake Aniwhenua
Āniwaniwa (Māori)
View of Lake Āniwaniwa from the jetty
View of Lake Āniwaniwa from the jetty
Location of Lake Āniwaniwa
Location of Lake Āniwaniwa
Lake Āniwaniwa
Location of Lake Āniwaniwa in the North Island
LocationBay of Plenty, North Island, New Zealand
Coordinates38°19′30″S 176°47′15″E / 38.32500°S 176.78750°E / -38.32500; 176.78750
Typereservoir
River sourcesRangitaiki River
Max. length4.5 km (2.8 mi)
Max. width0.5 km (0.31 mi)
Surface area2.1 km2 (0.81 sq mi)
Max. depth10 m (33 ft)

Lake Āniwaniwa (unofficially known as Lake Aniwhenua) is a small man-made lake on the Rangitaiki River, in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand. The lake is situated 13 km north of the town of Murupara, and about 16 km upstream of the Matahina Dam. The lake was created as a result of the construction of a 10 m high dam, part of the Aniwhenua hydroelectric scheme.[1]

Description

Lake Āniwaniwa is a long, shallow lake that measures 4.5 km long and 0.5 km across, with total area of about 2.1 km2.[2][3] The Whakatane District Council manages a campground on the northeastern lakeside, near the dam.

History

A series of feasibility studies and investigations into establishing a hydroelectric scheme upstream from the Matahina Dam were performed throughout the 1970s.[1] Construction on the scheme occurred between 1977 and 1981, and included the creation of a 10 m dam, which would hold back the newly formed Lake Āniwaniwa.[1]

The original name of the lake was Lake Aniwhenua, which was erroneously taken from the name of the nearby Āniwaniwa falls.[4] Under the Ngāti Manawa Claims Settlement Act 2012, Lake Āniwaniwa became the official name of the lake.[5]

Wildlife

Fish

Mature longfin and shortfin eels both migrate down the Rangitaiki River each autumn,[6] following their upstream migration as elvers (juveniles). The construction of the dam at Lake Āniwaniwa, along with the Matahina dam downstream, have impeded this migratory pathway.[7] Since the creation of the dam, numerous studies exploring strategies to mitigate the impact of the Lake Āniwaniwa dam on the migration of Rangitaiki have been conducted, often supported by the operators of the Aniwhenua hydroelectric scheme. The Department of Internal Affairs initiated a programme in 1983 to manually translocate elvers upstream, work later continued by the Department of Conservation and the Electricity Corporation of New Zealand.[8] In 1995, the number of elvers being translocated annually to Lake Āniwaniwa reached 149,000.[8] Some locals have taken it upon themselves to manually transfer elvers and mature eels to and from Lake Āniwaniwa.[9]

Lake Āniwaniwa additionally contains both rainbow and brown trout,[10] as well as mosquitofish, common bully and goldfish.[11]

Birdlife

Lake Āniwaniwa is home to various species of native waterbirds, including the New Zealand shoveler,[12] New Zealand scaup[13] and Australian coot.[14] Surveys conducted at the lake in the 1980s (around four years after the completion of the dam) also indicated the presence of other species such as the marsh crake, spotless crake, New Zealand dabchick and the threatened Australasian bittern.[15]

Hunting and fishing

Both trout fishing and game bird hunting (during the annual hunting season) are permitted at Lake Āniwaniwa.[16][17] In 2003, some controversy arose when the Fish & Game Council opened the north end of the lake to hunting. Some were concerned that it posed a safety risk given the proximity to the campground; however, Fish & Game argued that hunters had a responsibility to be cautious near public areas.[18]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Pickens, G A; Leyland, B W; Duder, J N (1984). "The Aniwhenua hydroelectric scheme". Transactions of the Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand: Civil Engineering Section. 11 (1): 13–27. ISSN 0111-9508.
  2. ↑ Wells, Rohan D S; Clayton, John S (2001). "Ecological impacts of water net (Hydrodictyon reticulatum) in Lake Aniwhenua, New Zealand" (PDF). New Zealand Journal of Ecology. 25 (1): 55–63. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  3. ↑ Suren, Alastair (2016). Fisheries assessment of waterways throughout the Rangitaiki WMA (PDF) (Report). Bay of Plenty Regional Council. p. 16. ISSN 1179-9471. Retrieved 13 May 2020. The resultant Lake Aniwhenua (area = 2.1 km2) is a major recreational resource...
  4. ↑ "Lake Āniwaniwa". NZGB Gazetteer. Land Information New Zealand. Retrieved 13 May 2020. The lake is a manmade feature and the name Aniwhenua had been trans-located from the falls, but misspelled...
  5. ↑ "New Zealand Gazette" (PDF). No. 52. 10 May 2012. p. 1466. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  6. ↑ Boubée, Jacques A; Mitchell, Charles P; Chisnall, Benjamin L; West, Dave W; Bowman, Eddie J; Haro, Alex (2001). "Factors regulating the downstream migration of mature eels (Anguilla spp.) at Aniwhenua Dam, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand". New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research. 35 (1): 121–134. doi:10.1080/00288330.2001.9516982. S2CID 84638541.
  7. ↑ Mitchell, Charles P (1996). Trapping the adult eel migration at Aniwhenua Power Station (PDF) (Report). Science for Conservation. Department of Conservation. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  8. 1 2 Chisnall, B L; Beentjes, M P; Boubée, J A T; Weset, D T (1998). Enhancement of New Zealand eel fisheries by elver transfers, 1996–97 (PDF) (Report). NIWA Technical Report. NIWA. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  9. ↑ "Mr Tuna - saving the Rangitaiki's taonga". Radio New Zealand. 2 August 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  10. ↑ Orman, Tony (2001). 21 Great New Zealand Trout Waters. Auckland, New Zealand: David Bateman Ltd. p. 21. ISBN 1-86953-133-7.
  11. ↑ Smith, Joshua; Boubée, Jacques; Stevenson, Catriona; Jenner, Robert; Mitai, Francis (2009). Status of eels in the Rangitaiki River reservoirs and tributaries - 2008 (Report). NIWA.
  12. ↑ McDougall, Matthew. A trend count of New Zealand Shoveler Duck - 2012 (PDF) (Report). Fish & Game New Zealand. p. 12. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  13. ↑ Bay of Plenty Regional Water and Land Plan (PDF) (Report). Bay of Plenty Regional Council. 2008. p. 346. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  14. ↑ Marchant, S; Higgins, P J, eds. (1993). Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds. Volume 2, Raptors to lapwings (PDF). Melbourne, Australia: Oxford University Press. p. 626.
  15. ↑ Howell, L (1987). "Classified summarised notes, North Island 1 July 1985 to 30 June 1986" (PDF). Notornis. 34 (2): 117–147. ISSN 0029-4470. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  16. ↑ "Rangitaiki River System, Horomanga and Whirinaki". Fish & Game New Zealand. Retrieved 13 May 2020. ...good fishing can be found around the weed beds, particularly targeting cruising brown and rainbow trout, either boat or shore based fishing.
  17. ↑ "2019 Game Bird Hunting Guide Regulations & Hunting Areas: North Island" (PDF). Fish & Game New Zealand. 2019. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  18. ↑ Brown, Jo-Marie (12 May 2003). "Shooters handed entire lake". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
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