page_title: Whitebait
section_title: New Zealand
hierarchical_section_title: Whitebait / Whitebait by region / New Zealand
caption_attribution_description: English: A plate of Whitebait Fritters, C. Botica 2007
context_page_description: Whitebait is a collective term for the immature fry of fish, typically between 1 and 2 inches long. Such young fish often travel together in schools along the coast, and move into estuaries and sometimes up rivers where they can be easily caught with fine meshed fishing nets. Whitebaiting is the activity of catching whitebait.
  Whitebait are tender and edible, and can be regarded as a delicacy. The entire fish is eaten including head, fins, bones, and bowels. Some species make better eating than others, and the particular species that are marketed as "whitebait" varies in different parts of the world.
  As whitebait consists of immature fry of many important food species it is not an ecologically viable foodstuff and in several countries strict controls on harvesting exist.
context_section_description: New Zealand whitebait are the juveniles of five galaxiid species which live as adults in freshwater rivers and streams. Four of these five species have been classified by the Department of Conservation as endangered. The whitebait are caught during their migration into freshwater habitats after their larval stage at sea. They are much smaller than Chinese or British whitebait, averaging 45–55 mm in length and are around 15–22 weeks old.
  The most common whitebait species in New Zealand is the common galaxias or inanga, which lays its eggs during the very high spring tides in Autumn amongst bankside grasses that are flooded by the tide. The eggs develop out of the water until inundated by the next spring tide which stimulates the eggs to hatch. The larvae are then carried to sea on the outgoing tide where they join the ocean's plankton. After approximately six months, the juvenile fish migrate back into freshwater habitats where they mature to adulthood. The four other galaxiid species in New Zealand whitebait are the climbing galaxias or koaro, banded kokopu, giant kokopu and shortjaw kokopu. These species also spawn in bankside vegetation, only their spawning is triggered by autumn floods rather than tides.
  New Zealand whitebait are caught in the lower reaches of the rivers using large, open-mouthed, hand-held scoop nets, long sock nets, or rigid, typically wedge-shaped set nets. Whitebaiters must constantly attend the nets in order to lift them as soon as a shoal enters the net, otherwise the whitebait quickly swim back out of the net. Whitebaiters may fish from platforms known as a 'stand', which may include screens to direct the fish and systems for raising and lowering nets.
  Whitebaiting in New Zealand is a seasonal activity with a legally fixed and limited period which spans part of the annual migration. The timing of the allowed fishing season is set to target the more common inanga, while avoiding the less common species that mainly migrate before and after the whitebaiting season. There is strict control over net sizes and rules against blocking the river or channelling the fish into the net to allow some fish to reach the adult habitats. The whitebait themselves are very sensitive to objects in the river and are adept at dodging the nets.
  Whitebait is a delicacy and commands high prices to the extent that it is the most expensive fish on the market, when available. During average to good seasons, prices vary between $70 and $130 per kilogram, depending on locality. Proceeds from the sale of whitebait are also taxed, with the rate being 25% in the 2012-13 tax year. It is normally sold fresh in small quantities, although some are frozen to extend the sale period. Nevertheless, whitebait can normally only be purchased during or close after the netting season. The most popular way of cooking whitebait in New Zealand is the whitebait fritter, which is essentially an omelette containing whitebait. Purists use only the egg white in order to minimise interfering with the taste of the bait.
  The degradation of waterways through forest clearance, and the impacts of agriculture and urbanisation, have caused the whitebait catch to decline. The loss of suitable spawning habitat has been particularly severe, especially for inanga, which rely on dense riparian vegetation lining the tidal portions of waterways. Amongst other factors, a lack of shade over waterways has been shown to kill developing whitebait eggs.
caption: New Zealand whitebait fritters
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