A scientist will be jet boating up a Canterbury river this summer in a bid to learn whether irrigation schemes affect salmon's ability to spawn.
An ecologist with the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, Phil Jellyman, will jet boat up the 150-kilometre-long Waimakariri River, which is one of the country's top salmon fishing rivers.
He says he will plant accoustic tags on fish to find out whether irrigation schemes that allow farmers to take water from the river affect salmon's upstream migration to spawning grounds.
Dr Jellyman aims to tag about 10 fish a month, but says it is a high-risk project that depends on being able to net the fish.
