are helping eradicate invasive weeds
Lake Rotomā is one of 18 lakes in Rotorua, the homelands of Te Arawa people. The waters there were once full of native aquatic life and kai.
"Our kōura (freshwater crayfish), kōaro (climbing galaxias fish), kākahi (freshwater mussel), tuna (eel), inanga (whitebait), morihana (gold fish), those kinds of ika (fish) have sustained our people for millennia, hundreds of years," said William Anaru, biosecurity manager at Te Arawa Lakes Trust.
But the introduction of pest species has threatened their survival. Te Arawa Lakes Trust is trying to restore the mauri, the lifeforce of the lakes, by using uwhi pinned to the lake bed.
"The purpose of the uwhi is to suppress the weed by blocking out the sunlight and then they rot away and die underneath," Anaru said.
Link to video and article: How woven flax mats pinned to lake beds in Rotorua are helping eradicate invasive weeds | Newshub
