By Around a thousand years ago, sea faring Maori Polynesians discovered what is now called New Zealand. These people found a land of abundant resources, unique wildlife, and gin clear rivers supporting native fish and freshwater eels. The kokopu has long been an important native fish to the Maori people. The kokopu would later be named ‘whitebait’ by European colonizers and placed in the same scientific order as trout and salmon (Salmoniformes). The whitebait is classified as a member of the Galaxiid family, which represents at least 40 fish species found in New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, and southern South America.
Galaxiids differ from salmon and trout by having no adipose fin, no scales, and a dorsal fin situated far back toward the caudal fin (tail). They are also very small, rarely growing to over eight inches in length. The whitebait is born in freshwater and migrates to the sea as a juvenile. Unlike most salmon, whitebait return to the freshwater immature and spend several months to a year growing before they mature and reproduce; a life cycle termed amphidromous. 
In 1769 Captain Cook sailed to New Zealand and claimed it for Britain. The arrival of Europeans led to the introduction of many new technologies, customs, beliefs, and freshwater fish. Early British settlers brought with them a rich angling tradition. It is not surprising that they recognized the huge potential for trout and salmon in New Zealand’s lakes and rivers. Acclimatization Societies were soon formed to establish a trout and salmon fishery. These societies were responsible for importing, breeding, rearing, and distributing the original European and North American salmonids to New Zealand waters.
Brown Trout
The first salmonid to be introduced to New Zealand’s productive waters is thought to be the brown trout (Salmo trutta). By the mid 1860s Britain had already introduced brown trout to Tasmania and mainland Australia. While the records are somewhat unclear, it appears that brown trout eggs from Tasmania successfully arrived to the South Island of New Zealand in 1867 or 1868. (Note: Brown trout were not introduced to the United States until 1886)
Since their original introduction, brown trout have become widely distributed and are now found in most streams and lakes on both islands. This distribution can be attributed to widespread stocking, as well as colonization by the browns. New Zealand browns can be highly migratory and some rivers support sea-run populations. Brown trout tagged on the Waikato River were found to over-summer in the river’s tidal estuary. During the fall months some of these fish would migrate several hundred kilometres upstream to spawn in the river’s tributaries (Pers. com. Goodhart).
Atlantic Salmon
The Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) was introduced to New Zealand shortly after the brown trout. In 1868, around 100,000 ova from the British rivers Tay and Severn were shipped to New Zealand. Forty years later, another shipment of several hundred thousand ova from Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and the Rhine were brought over. This North Atlantic native has not faired well in New Zealand and is restricted to several lakes in the Eglington Valley. No sea-run Atlantic salmon populations have become established.
Pacific Salmon
Several species of Pacific salmon have been introduced to New Zealand. Sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) were brought over from the American Northwest. Landlocked sockeye (kokanee) populations have become established in the Poerua and Waitaki Lakes. Coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) were also introduced, but have not become established.
By far the most successful salmon in New Zealand is the Chinook (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), known locally as the quinnat or kiwi salmon. The first shipment of chinook salmon came from the McCloud River, California and arrived in 1875. 
Chinook salmon have become well established in many of the braided freestone streams on the east coast of the South Island. The Waiau, Rakaia, Waimakariri, Ashburton, Rangitata, Clutha, and Waitaki Rivers all have self-sustainable runs of chinook. Several rivers on the west coast of the South Island also have chinook populations.
Ironically, while McCloud Chinook salmon transplants survive in New Zealand, they are now extinct in the McCloud River. Shasta Dam now blocks salmon from reaching the McCloud and other Sacramento River tributaries. As a result, many Sacramento River salmon and steelhead stocks are now extinct, endangered, or dependent on hatcheries. The devastating impact of dams, and heavy commercial fishing, are also leading to the decline of salmon on several rivers in New Zealand.
Rainbow Trout
The ancestry of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in New Zealand has been the source of much controversy among fisheries biologists and trout anglers. It was widely believed for some time that the original stock of rainbows was from the Russian River or McCloud River in California. A 1977 scientific report, titled ‘The Origins Of Rainbow Trout in New Zealand’ has disproved both of these theories. The report also discovered that the first recorded shipment of rainbow trout were probably mislabelled cutthroat.
I recently spoke with one of the authors of this report, Jack Fraser, about the mysterious history of rainbow trout introduction to New Zealand. The earliest recorded shipment of rainbows to New Zealand was in 1878. The source of these fish was from a hatchery on the Truckee River, California. This fish stock was recorded to be from Lake Tahoe tributaries. Many fish culturists of the 1870s were known to change the common name on labels so that the receivers would be guaranteed satisfaction.
The native trout to the Truckee River and Lake Tahoe tributaries is the Lahontan Cutthroat (Oncorhycus clarki henshawii). It is now widely accepted that the 1875 shipment was not rainbow trout, but was Lahontan Cutthroat. If this is so, the New Zealand Lahontan Cutthroat has disappeared due to competition and hybridisation with browns and rainbows. The native Lahontan Cutthroat in California and Nevada has also been negatively affected by trout introductions.
The first successful shipment of rainbow trout to New Zealand is now thought to have occurred in 1883 and was not from Russian or McCloud River stocks. “A search of records and literature in both New Zealand and America reveals rather conclusive evidence that the 1883 shipment of trout eggs to New Zealand originated from steelhead rainbow trout in Sonoma Creek, a tributary to San Francisco Bay” (Fraser, Hewitson, and Scott 1977). Over the next fifty years California rainbow trout from the McCloud River and Lake Almanor were also exported to New Zealand, but not considered as significant as the 1883 shipment from Sonoma Creek.
Because of their steelhead ancestry many New Zealand rainbows behave much like steelhead; utilizing lakes as summer feeding areas and ascending tributaries to spawn from late fall to spring. This behaviour is exhibited elsewhere in the world where steelhead/rainbow trout have been introduced, such as the Great Lakes of North America. The extent to which sea-run rainbow trout occur in New Zealand is unclear, but references by fisheries biologists and anglers indicate that this species does occasionally migrate to the sea (pers. com. Fraser and Goodhart).
Rainbow trout have been planted extensively throughout New Zealand by foot, horse, truck, and aircraft. Populations now exist in most rivers and lakes of the country and are particularly abundant on the North Island.
Char
At least two species of char from North America have been introduced to New Zealand. While both species are often referred to as trout, they are actually members of the char family. The brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) of eastern North America was first shipped to New Zealand from New York in 1887. The brook trout has not faired well in New Zealand waters where rainbow and brown trout are present. In waters where it exists free from competition with other salmonids, the brook trout has done fairly well. Scattered populations continue to survive in several isolated areas on both islands.
The mackinaw (Salvelinus namaycush) is another char from North America that was brought over to New Zealand. Introduced in 1906, the mackinaw has not become well established in the lakes it was planted in. As a result, mackinaw are extremely rare in New Zealand, and are only thought to exist in one lake on the South Island.
New Zealand is one of the finest rainbow and brown trout fisheries in the world. For three months in 1997 my brother Jim and I were fortunate enough to explore this angling paradise. While fishing New Zealand it is easy to imagine how spectacular many of the planet’s native trout and salmon fisheries in the Northern Hemisphere used to be. New Zealand’s trout and salmon fishery is exceptional at this time in history, just as it once was on the McCloud, Truckee, Sonoma, and other waters of North America and Europe. As we begin to restore these streams, where the original salmonids of New Zealand came from, it is hoped that one day in the future we may see their native trout and salmon populations return to former glory.
References:
Fraser, Hewitson, and Scott, 1977. The Origin of Rainbow Trout, Salmo gairdneri Richardson, in New Zealand. California Department of Fish and Game. Schultz, K., 2000. Fishing Encyclopaedia. IDG Books Worldwide, Inc. Foster City, Ca.
Personal Communication:
Fraser, JackGoodhart, Dave
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