Click above button to view the tool in web browser
Anyone can use the tool and provide data by using the survey available in the NIWA Citizen Science app. The survey/app provides a standardized way to record data on the characteristics of instream structures and assess those structures’ accessibility for fish. The information collected is automatically uploaded to a national fish passage database and can be viewed and downloaded from the Fish Passage Assessment Tool (FPAT) webpage. Each structure is assigned a fish passage risk class.
The information collected using the FPAT aims to help us to understand and visualize the connectivity of New Zealand’s rivers and track progress of work intended to restore fish passage. The FPAT can be used to collect the required information on instream structures for the National Environmental Standards for Freshwater and the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management.
The data in the FPAT database are used in the Barrier Assessment and Reporting Tool to calculate catchment connectivity and prioritise barriers for remediation.
Download NIWA Citizen Science App
The Fish Passage Assessment Survey app is available for iOS and Android operating systems and can be downloaded from:
Other resources:
Fish Passage Assessment tool factsheet
This factsheet provides guidance for councils on meeting the fish passage requirements in the National Environmental Standards for Freshwater, using the fish passage assessment tool (FPAT). It will also help kaitiaki, community groups, rural professionals, landowners, structure owners and citizen scientists to use the FPAT tool.
Fish Passage Assessment Form
Licensing & using data
The data available on the Fish Passage Assessment Tool webapp are licensed under the CC-BY 4.0 licence, and users should read and understand the terms of this licence. In particular, while NIWA endeavours to ensure the validity and reliability of the FPAT data, users should note that the data has been collected from a wide range of sources, has not been quality controlled and may be corrected, updated, changed or withdrawn at any time without notification. Users use the data at their own risk and NIWA disclaims and waives all liability for the use of or reliance on the data.
Acknowledgements
Development of the Fish Passage Assessment Tool was funded by MBIE through Envirolink Tools contract C01X1609 and supported with funds from the European Commission through the Marie Sklodowska-Curie action, “Knowledge Exchange for Efficient Passage of Fish in the Southern Hemisphere” (RISE-2015-690857-KEEPFISH). Ongoing upkeep of the tool is funded by the Ministry for the Environment.
