Ka taea e te whakamewaro pītauira te kāhuarau porehu o te tuna?

He kararehe aupiki ngā tuna o Aotearoa. Whai muri i te noho ki ngā awa mō te nuinga o te wā, e hia mano kiromita te heke a te tuna ki te moana ki te toene. Kia rite ai mō tēnei, ka oti tētahi tino takahuritanga nui, e mōhiotia ana ko te 'silvering', e takahuri ai te tinana kia urutau ai ki te wai tai. Whai muri i ngā rangahau o ngā rau tau, kāore tātou i te mōhio he aha e pā mai ai tēnei āhuatanga, ētahi atu takahuri nui rānei o te tuna. He aha e takahuri ai ētahi tuna i muri o te 15 tau, ā, ko ētahi ka tata mō te 50 tau?

Kua whiwhi a Tākuta Sugrue i tētahi Tahua Tīmata-Wawe a Marsden hei tūhura mēnā ka whakaohotia te takahuri urutau e te whakamewaro pītauira – te tohu matū i ngā pītauira ki ngā rōpū whakamewaro. Ka rerekē ngā kōtaha whakamewaro pītauira i roto i te wā, e urutau ana ki ngā tohu ā-roto, ā-waho hoki. Ka taea e te huringa ki te whakamewaro pītauira te tīmata, te whakaweto rānei i ngā pītauira, e rerekē ai te āhua, te tinana, te whanonga rānei.

Ka whakatauritea e Tākuta Sugrue ngā tauira whakamewaro i roto i te huinga ira o ngā tuna i ngā wāhanga mataora rerekē me te kimi i ngā rohe ka rerekē i te wā o te takahuri urutau. Ka hangaia e rātou te "karaka tinana" mō te tuna, e ai ki ngā raraunga whakamewaro. Mā tēnei ka taea te aromatawai te taipakeke me te hauora o te tuna, ā, kāore e whara te tuna.

He momo taonga te tuna i Aotearoa, he nui tōna hiranga ahurea, rauropi hoki.  Ka kokea e tēnei rangahau tō tātou māramatanga taketake ki te kāhuarau me te pakeketanga. Ka tuku hoki tēnei i tētahi tikanga auaha mō te aroturuki matatika me te tōtika i te taupori, te whakarite i tētahi tauārai hira mō te tiaki i te tuna, me te whakahaere toitū i ngā awa me ngā ika.

Otoliths (ear bones) mounted on a slide. Otolith rings are counted to estimate the eel's age (photo credit: Duncan Coutts)