“Anecdotally, you’ll talk to old timers who will say they used to catch snapper way out in the Mahakipawa Arm.” Kepes thinks the cause of that is from nearby forestry blocks that often have “steep unstable hill sides” and were subject to silt run off in heavy rain. About 20-years ago, Kepes purchased a forestry block in Rai Valley. The 14-hectare block had mixed forestry species and about five acres of regenerative native bush, which Kepes did not harvest. In order to mitigate the risk of any silt run off, he only harvested a small amount at a time.