Learn About New Zealand Eels (Tuna)

For EducatorsEcosystems and HabitatsOther Cool CreaturesKaitiaki/Conservation
Written By Kim Manunui

New Zealand has two main types of eel (tuna in Māori)– the shortfin and the longfin. There is also a spotted eel that occasionally visits from Australia.

Longfin eels are at risk and are declining in number. They are found only in New Zealand.  Unfortunately, they are easily affected by human activities, such as pollution, clearing vegetation, building dams, and fishing.

Shortfin eels are not threatened and are found in New Zealand, Australia and some Pacific Islands.

Click HERE if you want to learn more about the differences between the species.

New Zealand’s eels can live up to 100 years and breed only once at the end of their lives. They live in freshwater, but in order to breed, they migrate from lakes and rivers to swim all the way through the Pacific Ocean to near Tonga. Watch this fantastic video, made by Issie Barrett, with a fun catchy song all about this amazing feat.

Forest and Bird have written an excellent short article about New Zealand longfin eels that is great for kids to read. It is a simple piece of text, but is packed with information about these amazing creatures. Click HERE to read it.

Click HERE to download an awesome pdf with information and activities for kids made by DOC. It includes a maze, wordfind, quiz, and spot the difference.

The DOC website has lots of interesting information about longfin eels and some links to more articles about them. The great activities for kids listed below, are straight from their site, please click HERE to see the full website and original source. We think they are fantastic ideas!

Activities for students

  • Find out about the eel fishery in New Zealand and the problems associated with fishing a slow-growing, long-lived species.

  • On a map, trace the journey of the longfin eel as it leaves New Zealand to breed. Work out how far it travels.

  • Design a board game. You could call it "Eels and Ladders". Players move around the board, winning points for actions that protect the longfin eel and losing points for actions that harm it. For example, one square could read "You go to the Environment Court to stop a company discharging toxic effluent into the river. Move ahead 5 squares." Another square could read "You drain a wetland, reducing the habitat for eels. Go back 6 squares".

  • Discuss attitudes and feelings about eels. What do students think of when they hear the word eel? What does an eel feel like? Get students to make up poems about eels by putting up on a board all the words they associate with eels. .

  • Hold a class debate on a proposed drainage scheme which would reduce the level of water in a river where eels live.

  • Read Watercress Tuna and the Children of Champion Street by Patricia Grace. Have students write and illustrate their own stories about an eel.

Thanks to Orokonui Ecosanctuary for sharing this with us.

Thanks to Orokonui Ecosanctuary for sharing this with us.

Kim Manunui

Hi, I’m Kim and I work with a great team to help individuals, as well as small and not so small businesses get their message, product and services to the world using digital media and creating wonderful websites that don’t cost the earth.

I was born in Canada, and grew up around Vancouver and the mountains of British Columbia. My love of pristine environments led me to New Zealand and eventually to the mountains, lakes and rivers of the central North Island which is home. My family’s heritage is here, and it’s from here that Korio traverses the planet.

The digital world is never static and neither are we.

And I say ‘we’ because I work with an awesome group of talented people who I gather together as required to complete a project.  Whatever your business, not-for-profit or individual needs are we gather the best team to get the job done.

Collaboratively we are creative, share sustainable values and work hard for great outcomes because that’s the buzz of satisfaction that drives us.

If you have an audience and market to reach, we can make that happen. Creative design, words that work and smart behind the scenes stuff that cuts through the online noise. We’ll design your website and then build it. We’ll manage the content as well as all your hosting needs. We can handle your online advertising so you get noticed,
and we’ll manage your social media presence so you get the clicks, likes and engagement to grow your business. All within the budget you set, because none of this needs to cost the earth.  And the job doesn’t stop when your website goes live. We are your virtual business partner.

https://www.korio.co.nz
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