Central South Island Fish and Game has now completed two of the five annual live fish counts for sea-run salmon in the Rakitata/Rangitata River spring-fed spawning streams.
The first count, conducted on 1 April, recorded 78 salmon across Deep Creek and Deep Stream. The second count, a week later, recorded 111 salmon.
While these early counts are slightly higher than last season’s record low, it is still too early to estimate a final season total. The ongoing sea-run salmon crisis remains, with returns continuing to sit well below historic levels.
The South Island sea-run salmon fishery is currently in a critical state, with wild population numbers reaching historic lows in major East Coast rivers. Data from the 2024/25 season showed exceptionally low spawning numbers, with combined counts for the Waimakariri, Rakaia, and Rangitata rivers dropping below 1,000, representing a 30-year low.
Severe Restrictions
Due to the decline, the 2025/26 season introduced a season bag limit of one fish for the entire season in the North Canterbury and Central South Island regions.
Another trend is a lower individual fish size. Numbers have hit historic lows compared to the “golden age” of the 1990s when winning competition fish exceeded 16kg. A 2024 salmon competition saw fewer than 50 salmon submitted, with winners weighing only 3.32kg.
The collapse is thought to be a combination of warm ocean temperatures, spawning habitat destruction, and low river flows caused by irrigation extraction plus excessive nitrates which are toxic to fish, particularly juvenile hatching salmon..