Streams in the Marlborough Sounds mostly drain small, steep catchments. Most of the streams are less than two meters wide and flow throughout the year. This makes them more accessible for fish colonising them from the sea and therefore provide habitat types that might normally be found many kilometres inland in larger river systems.
Concern that little is known of the ecological value of these streams and the unknown impact on them from domestic water supply takes, led the council to undertake this pilot study.
A range of physical and biological measurements were made in eight streams of varying size and draining a variety of catchment types typical of Queen Charlotte Sound/Totaranui.
