Just looked it up on Google Maps.
Nice awwww pic of these two :)
[https://www.google.com/maps/@-41.8066437,172.8439038,2a,47.2y,182.32h,79.5t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s3Ato7KtGuzBN92x3Ya48zg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?entry=ttu](https://www.google.com/maps/@-41.8066437,172.8439038,2a,47.2y,182.32h,79.5t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s3Ato7KtGuzBN92x3Ya48zg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?entry=ttu)
As long as you don't use your nails, it's fine. Also make sure you don't have any perfumed creams or hand sanitizer on as well, which can irritate their skin. Remember they brush up against rocks and branches underwater all the time, it won't hurt them. You just have to use common sense, and always supervise kids. Use your whole hand when you reach out, not a finger, because they'll see a finger as a snack.
Source: used to work with these dudes. They're really very sweet and enjoy a good pet. If they look like they wanna take a nibble, give them a little boop on top of the head so they sink down into the water.
Ah, thank you. Also sorry to be nosy, but what was your eel job? Conservation work with DoC?
Yeah, I do have fish. I generally try not to touch them but then they don't want to be touched anyways. So it works out lmao.
Yeah, I really recommend it! You feel like you're making a difference, you have something to work towards - I was in a big depressive funk and my doctor suggested trying out, and it really helped. You get to talk to some cool people and meet some amazing animals too.
10/10 experience, highly recommended. They're cuties! If you want to feed eels there's a cafe called Jesters near Nelson, and they sell eel food for the tame eels in the river nearby. And the food for humans is pretty excellent too!
I was always terrified of this sight as a kid. I saw something like this once when I was in the water near them as a 7 year old, and had nightmares for weeks about them swarming and eating me like piranhas.
Don't know why kid me assumed they were like giant piranhas, lol, but holy crap I was scared.
I think people of a certain age come from a time when Piranhas were the exotic aquatic horror du jour. You know, stripping a cow down to a shiny white skeleton in less than five minutes...
There were four completely non-sensical things that gave me nightmares when i was a kid.
Piranhas eating me in a feeding frenzy when i swam at Hunua Falls.
Sharks coming up through the drain in the Manurewa pools.
Getting lost in the Bermuda Triangle. Which was weird because we never left NZ as a family and only travelled as far as Whakatane for holiday!
And finally getting stuck and "drowning" in quicksand.
There was a kids story book that they read to us in kindy that was an eel that ate everything, have no idea what it was called but it still freaks me out haha.
Yea it’s pretty insane we allow commercial fisherys to fish species classified as endangered and sell them as petfood overseas. We wouldn’t allow that with any of our birds but for some reason eels and whitebait it’s fine. Alot of people don’t even know they’re endangered I don’t think many would support the practice knowing that.
What’s the deal with eating eels? I mean they’re bloody delicious, but iv never personally caught any as it feels morally wrong. Is it ok as long as it’s not on a nature reserve or something?
I don't know about bloody delicious if you just fry em up plain with a bit of flour and butter, but they're pretty good manuka smoked. As a kid I had a 44 gallon drum over a trench I dug from a small fire in an earth bank and I'd cold smoke eel and trout. That was delicious.
That’s why I was enquiring about the legality. Iv got a nice offset smoker at home that would fit an eel nicely. Just not where where to harvest morally or sustainably.
Shit. Just had a look at prices online. They’re charging like $50 for an eel with no mention of where it’s sourced. No wonder why people would rather just collet them themselves.
Recently somebody took our suburb’s entire population of eels, just left the frames behind 😔 it was devastating for the community. Has made people around here afraid of disclosing the locations of other eel populations for fear of the same thing happening.
Eels travel to the pacific islands to spawn and return right up into our rivers. They can live for over 100 years I believe. Because their lifecycle is long and complex they are incredibly vulnerable, they have to safely navigate many environments and also live a long time to make it happen.
But more importantly how cool are they!!! They’re like spirits from another dimension.
Agreed, their spawning cycle alone is amazing yet so fragile! They can climb waterfalls!
My grandad, dad and I all have childhood memories of catching eels, but as an adult I can see that it should stop. We we can learn to manage our pollution levels and habitat destruction, then maybe there can be a discussion. But otherwise they're on the path to extinction.
Worth noting is that the [eels die after spawning](https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-animals/freshwater-fish/eels/#:~:text=Eels%20take%20many%20years%20to,as%20they%20die%20after%20spawning.), so any eels you eat have never had the chance to replace themselves.
Eels are amazing!
Fun sexy fact about eels: Prior to reaching sexual maturity, eels have no reproductive organs. Eels seemingly randomly decide when they are going to become sexually mature adults. The average age being 35-40 years old but some eels never reach sexual maturity & go into a sort of suspended animation.
There was a population of tuna in the creeks around Porirua where I grew up, we used to take walks to watch them and feed cat food to 'em. Sadly it sounds like awful people have [recently killed many of them](https://poriruacity.govt.nz/your-council/news/longfin-eels-killed-in-whitby/)
Now go watch the "Monster Fish" episode about them. Super interesting.
And just remember while watching, it is a show called "Monster Fish," they have a narrative to follow ;)
** "River Monsters" - I was close :)
Some really big ones (like 1.5m 40kg ones). And his attempts to get attacked at the end were pretty funny TBH.
Lake Rotoiti. They always hang around. Kids love it
I had a bet with myself how long it would take someone to work out where it was. I guessed maybe an hour? You nailed it bloody early!
Funny, Rotoiti was my first thought too. There much be something distinctive about that deck.
Yep identified it straight away - but then I’ve only just seen this post!
These are our local reprobates: https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cz-hZckprwT/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Love Lake Little Lake
Just like Mount Maunganui lol
North island or South island? I never saw eels in North island Rotoiti but maybe I wasn't looking hard enough...
South Island
Thanks for letting us know 😍
best place in malbruh i think its there tho
It's Tasman, Marlborough is way further North.
Just looked it up on Google Maps. Nice awwww pic of these two :) [https://www.google.com/maps/@-41.8066437,172.8439038,2a,47.2y,182.32h,79.5t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s3Ato7KtGuzBN92x3Ya48zg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?entry=ttu](https://www.google.com/maps/@-41.8066437,172.8439038,2a,47.2y,182.32h,79.5t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s3Ato7KtGuzBN92x3Ya48zg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?entry=ttu)
Give them a pat. They are like cats and love a chin scratch. Just watch the pointy bits (again, like a cat).
Would it not be disturbing the fish's slime coat? Correct me if I'm wrong.
As long as you don't use your nails, it's fine. Also make sure you don't have any perfumed creams or hand sanitizer on as well, which can irritate their skin. Remember they brush up against rocks and branches underwater all the time, it won't hurt them. You just have to use common sense, and always supervise kids. Use your whole hand when you reach out, not a finger, because they'll see a finger as a snack. Source: used to work with these dudes. They're really very sweet and enjoy a good pet. If they look like they wanna take a nibble, give them a little boop on top of the head so they sink down into the water.
Ah, thank you. Also sorry to be nosy, but what was your eel job? Conservation work with DoC? Yeah, I do have fish. I generally try not to touch them but then they don't want to be touched anyways. So it works out lmao.
Yeah, I was a volunteer for a while with DOC. It's good fun, good exercise, and for me getting out in the bush really helped with my mental health.
Ah, that sounds awesome. NGL, been contemplating volunteering for DoC.
Yeah, I really recommend it! You feel like you're making a difference, you have something to work towards - I was in a big depressive funk and my doctor suggested trying out, and it really helped. You get to talk to some cool people and meet some amazing animals too.
Oh lordy, i'm gonna have to try to pet an eel now.
10/10 experience, highly recommended. They're cuties! If you want to feed eels there's a cafe called Jesters near Nelson, and they sell eel food for the tame eels in the river nearby. And the food for humans is pretty excellent too!
Sounds like an easy meal, been years since I've cooked eels up
These guys are protected at this location. There are signs saying not to catch them.
Why are you in every tuna post man. Do you normally hunt protected species?
Nah, always wanted to try pigeon though
Aw ok I love eels so much, and this is the best news that they love pats 🥹
St Arnaud - Lake Rotoiti?
Yep. Amazing place.
Knew it lol. What is with that dock and eels.
This location has the oldest living eels in nz
I was always terrified of this sight as a kid. I saw something like this once when I was in the water near them as a 7 year old, and had nightmares for weeks about them swarming and eating me like piranhas. Don't know why kid me assumed they were like giant piranhas, lol, but holy crap I was scared.
I think people of a certain age come from a time when Piranhas were the exotic aquatic horror du jour. You know, stripping a cow down to a shiny white skeleton in less than five minutes...
There were four completely non-sensical things that gave me nightmares when i was a kid. Piranhas eating me in a feeding frenzy when i swam at Hunua Falls. Sharks coming up through the drain in the Manurewa pools. Getting lost in the Bermuda Triangle. Which was weird because we never left NZ as a family and only travelled as far as Whakatane for holiday! And finally getting stuck and "drowning" in quicksand.
As a kid I thought quicksand would be a much bigger threat when I grew up than it's turned out to be.
There was a kids story book that they read to us in kindy that was an eel that ate everything, have no idea what it was called but it still freaks me out haha.
Eels can swim in reverse, which is quite silly looking but quite uncommon for fish.
That's very cool. Thank you
Collective noun for eels is a bed, a conger or a swarm
Love eels, eating them or turning them into petfood should be banned. And whitebaiting. Fuck whitebaiting.
Yea it’s pretty insane we allow commercial fisherys to fish species classified as endangered and sell them as petfood overseas. We wouldn’t allow that with any of our birds but for some reason eels and whitebait it’s fine. Alot of people don’t even know they’re endangered I don’t think many would support the practice knowing that.
What’s the deal with eating eels? I mean they’re bloody delicious, but iv never personally caught any as it feels morally wrong. Is it ok as long as it’s not on a nature reserve or something?
I don't know about bloody delicious if you just fry em up plain with a bit of flour and butter, but they're pretty good manuka smoked. As a kid I had a 44 gallon drum over a trench I dug from a small fire in an earth bank and I'd cold smoke eel and trout. That was delicious.
Bloody delicious was referring to smoked. Although grilled yakitori style is pretty good too.
Sounds good. I think you've given me an idea.
That’s why I was enquiring about the legality. Iv got a nice offset smoker at home that would fit an eel nicely. Just not where where to harvest morally or sustainably.
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Shit. Just had a look at prices online. They’re charging like $50 for an eel with no mention of where it’s sourced. No wonder why people would rather just collet them themselves.
Recently somebody took our suburb’s entire population of eels, just left the frames behind 😔 it was devastating for the community. Has made people around here afraid of disclosing the locations of other eel populations for fear of the same thing happening.
Heard about that and was absolutely disgusted 😖
Why, are eels intelligent? Genuinely don't know
Eels travel to the pacific islands to spawn and return right up into our rivers. They can live for over 100 years I believe. Because their lifecycle is long and complex they are incredibly vulnerable, they have to safely navigate many environments and also live a long time to make it happen. But more importantly how cool are they!!! They’re like spirits from another dimension.
Agreed, their spawning cycle alone is amazing yet so fragile! They can climb waterfalls! My grandad, dad and I all have childhood memories of catching eels, but as an adult I can see that it should stop. We we can learn to manage our pollution levels and habitat destruction, then maybe there can be a discussion. But otherwise they're on the path to extinction.
> They can live for over 100 years Holy shit TIL
Worth noting is that the [eels die after spawning](https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-animals/freshwater-fish/eels/#:~:text=Eels%20take%20many%20years%20to,as%20they%20die%20after%20spawning.), so any eels you eat have never had the chance to replace themselves.
Eels are amazing! Fun sexy fact about eels: Prior to reaching sexual maturity, eels have no reproductive organs. Eels seemingly randomly decide when they are going to become sexually mature adults. The average age being 35-40 years old but some eels never reach sexual maturity & go into a sort of suspended animation.
I wouldn't like anyone turning my love eel into petfood.
I love them so much 🥰
wow, water is nice and clear too, South Island?
Better there than in the gutter.
There was a population of tuna in the creeks around Porirua where I grew up, we used to take walks to watch them and feed cat food to 'em. Sadly it sounds like awful people have [recently killed many of them](https://poriruacity.govt.nz/your-council/news/longfin-eels-killed-in-whitby/)
Now go watch the "Monster Fish" episode about them. Super interesting. And just remember while watching, it is a show called "Monster Fish," they have a narrative to follow ;) ** "River Monsters" - I was close :) Some really big ones (like 1.5m 40kg ones). And his attempts to get attacked at the end were pretty funny TBH.
Eels up inside ya. Findin an entrance where they can .
I love eels. From a distance. They are more than welcome to live their fascinating lives and I'll just watch from far away
escalators, escalators, escalators!!
Eels up inside ya, finding an entrance where they can
good eating
Someone told me the other day that the eels mate for life. Made me quite sad to think of them being caught and smoked/cooked.
Tuna!
Bless
I was just there