DiscoverOur Changing WorldProtecting ‘Jaws’ – Aotearoa’s rarest freshwater fish
Protecting ‘Jaws’ – Aotearoa’s rarest freshwater fish

Protecting ‘Jaws’ – Aotearoa’s rarest freshwater fish

Update: 2025-06-30
Share

Description

Speckled, pencil-thin and sporting an underbite: the lowland longjaw galaxias is New Zealand’s rarest freshwater fish species. With just seven known populations, this species is considered nationally endangered. Join producer Karthic SS at a spring-fed stream in the wild Mackenzie Basin to meet the tiny fish, hear from a researcher studying trout-proof barriers, and chat to a ranger who for 20 years has cared for the little fish he calls 'Jaws'.

Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.

Guests:

  • Dean Nelson, Senior Ranger, Biodiversity, Department of Conservation
  • Martha Jolly, PhD candidate, University of Canterbury

Learn more:

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Comments 
loading
00:00
00:00
1.0x

0.5x

0.8x

1.0x

1.25x

1.5x

2.0x

3.0x

Sleep Timer

Off

End of Episode

5 Minutes

10 Minutes

15 Minutes

30 Minutes

45 Minutes

60 Minutes

120 Minutes

Protecting ‘Jaws’ – Aotearoa’s rarest freshwater fish

Protecting ‘Jaws’ – Aotearoa’s rarest freshwater fish

RNZ