During late February 2025, the Inland Fisheries Service carried out monitoring at Woods Lake for the threatened freshwater fish, the saddled galaxias (Galaxias tanycephalus).

Until recently, Woods Lake has experienced a prolonged blue-green algal bloom that first appeared in February 2023.  There has been concern about how the bloom might have impacted the saddled galaxias, as in recent years the abundance of this species has generally been low.

The news from the survey was however truly exciting, with over 1,500 saddled galaxias captured over a single night. Normally we would expect to catch around 50-70 individuals, so to observe this many during the sampling is a great result!

A whole range of sizes were found during the sampling, including a significant number of juvenile fish, indicating a strong breeding season.

Consequently, things are looking good for the immediate conservation status of this important native fish that is found only in Woods Lake and the adjacent Arthurs Lake.

The Arthurs Lake population was surveyed during October 2024, also with good numbers present.