Our Changing World: Trapping to help whio

9:17 am today

Claire Concannon, for Our Changing World

A blue-grey duck with yellow eyes and pink bill nestled among round grey riverstones.

Whio in Waioeka Gorge. Photo: Sam Gibson

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Sam Gibson grew up hunting and fishing in the forests and rivers of Tairāwhiti, and remembers spotting whio, the native blue ducks, bouncing down the river rapids.

But in 2020, the number of whio in the Waioeka Gorge, between Gisborne and Ōpōtiki, was down to just four pairs - eight individual birds. So, Sam, who also goes by Sam the Trap Man, set about doing something about it.

Eastern Whio Link

Sam is the co-chair of the Eastern Whio Link conservation project, established to protect the remaining population of these 'scrappy little ducks'.

By establishing trap lines along the riverbanks - targeting the stoats and wild cats that prey on the birds - the project has enabled a turnaround in whio fortune. More than 100 whio chicks have fledged across the four years the project has been running.

For Sam, the whio represent an entry point, a 'gateway conservation drug', to get the community engaged.

Six people and two dogs sit along a mossy embankment along the edge of an unseen river, with native bush in the background. The people are wearing hiking outfits and have backpacks on.

The Eastern Whio Link project uses dogs to detect whio and trapping to kill stoats and wild cats. Photo: Sam Gibson

And it has worked.

Starting with 250 traps and seven volunteers the project has now grown to more than 1,000 traps over 30,000 hectares, maintained by more than 100 volunteers and three staff.

They've also established a more intensive trap network across 5,000 hectares where a population of eastern brown kiwi have been found.

A man wearing grey thermals under a dark t-shirt, a backpack, and an off-shite cap over blond hair, crouches in among ferns while affixing a black-and-orange contraption to the base of a mossy tree trunk. He is smiling broadly at the camera.

Installing a trap in the Waioeka Gorge. Photo: Sam Gibson

Sam puts the success of the project to date down to a few things. First, that it is led by hunters, fishers, farmers and mana whenua, and that the project has a mahinga kai element to it.

"Everyone walks away with a feed of venison or trout or pikopiko or kōwaowao or kareao or some of our other delicacies from the bush. Everyone has a great time hunting and fishing, and all we have to do is check some traps along the way," he says.

Second is that they've been quite creative in how they've sourced funding to continue their conservation work. They've used international relationships with hunting groups or businesses, and they've also established a biodiversity credit.

A man and a woman in tramping gear - backpacks, shorts and gaiters over boots - walking in front of dark forest and yellow and purple flowers. They are both carrying long rifles. A black-and-white dog follows them.

The Eastern Whio Link project is led by hunters, landowners and mana whenua. Photo: Sam Gibson

Biodiversity credits in New Zealand

Similar to carbon credits, people or businesses can buy biodiversity credits to support conservation projects. Eastern Whio Link teamed up with a climate action company CarbonZ to set up their credits.

A $200 credit represents one trap for 100 metres of riverbank of whio habitat. The purchaser will also commit to a $50 maintenance credit per year for luring and gassing the trap.

Then, following their annual whio census, using a whio detecting dog and whio muster (which is a community counting day), the project will feed back to the businesses about how the whio are going.

They've had a diverse group of supporters through this credit system says Sam, including European fashion houses.

"One of the things I really like about them is it allows us to access international business dollars to support New Zealand conservation," he says.

A man wearing a black long-sleeved shirt and a tan-coloured wide-brimmed hat stands with his arms folded in front of burnt orange corrugated iron. He has a dark beard and is smiling warmly.

Sam the Trap Man, co-chair of Eastern Whio Link. Photo: George Zame

While the Eastern Whio Link took the initiative to set up their own scheme, there have been consultations about establishing a biodiversity credit system for New Zealand.

In July 2023, then-Associate Environment Minister James Shaw launched a proposal for a system as a way to address the shortfall in investment needed to protect biodiversity.

In response to a recent enquiry a Ministry for the Environment spokesperson said:

"The government's approach to protecting native biodiversity is to make it simpler and more cost effective for landowners to support conservation on their land. If farmers, growers, and other landowners are given the right incentives, they'll make conservation happen and many already are.    

"The biodiversity credit system work is part of this approach. Associate Minister for the Environment (Biodiversity), Andrew Hoggard, has directed the Ministry to investigate options for a biodiversity credit system to help make it accessible to landowners and trusted by investors so that it can be successful."

Looking to the future

Despite their innovations in securing funding, money is tight in the environmental space right now, says Sam.

But their long-term goal is to set up second and third projects to connect the protected whio habitat from Te Urewera right through to the coast at East Cape.

Five grey-blue ducks sit facing away from the camera on a rock next to a river. One is loafing, curled up with its beak tucked. The other four are standing; one is preening, one has its wing slightly extended, and one looks back at the camera.

Whio in the Waioeka Gorge. Photo: Sam Gibson

This means when the ducks reach capacity on the protected stretch of river, they'll have a safe place for the extra numbers to expand into.

For now, Sam is happy that when he takes his children to the bush, they get to experience the same joy of seeing little baby whio bouncing down the river rapids in springtime.

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