Hundreds of eels saved as Canterbury pit dries up
21 Jan, 2021 12:05 AM
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Swannanoa firemen Assina Dalglish, left, and Scott Pilkington pour water into Whites Pit as part of efforts to recover more stranded eels. Photo / Supplied
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Hundreds of native tuna/eels, some up to 60-years-old, have been rescued from Whites Pit at Ohoka in the past two months as the huge waterhole dries up.
About 200 were rescued prior to Christmas and several hundred since as dry conditions reduced the pit to a large mud puddle.
In a last-ditch effort to protect those that had burrowed deeply into the mud, the Swannanoa Fire Brigade was called in to pour a truck-load of water in to help protect those remaining.