Photo: RNZ / Philippa TolleyA new report on the health of NZ's freshwater paints a bleak picture for native species and shows Canterbury's water quality is under threat from human activity. The report, Our Freshwater 2020, explores the most significant pressures facing freshwater through four issues: native freshwater species and ecosystems, water in urban, farming and forestry areas, changing water flows and climate change. It details the threats freshwater species, habitats and ecosystems are under and how they continue to decline. The report, from the Ministry for the Environment and Stats NZ, found three-quarters of native freshwater fish were either threatened or at risk of extinction. Irrigated land area rose in every region during this time, but the total increase was largely due to the almost doubling of irrigated land in Canterbury (241,000 to 478,000 hectares).

Source: Otago Daily Times April 16, 2020 01:30 UTC