Environment Canterbury is “confident” whitebait gathered at Saltwater Creek, North Canterbury is now safe to consume.

There had been a fishing and gathering ban in place at both the creek and Ashley/Rakahuri estuary following a wastewater spill from an Ashley factory on 1 September.

ECan said in a statement, “Based on the test results, we are confident that any whitebait caught from Monday 4 September can be eaten. However, we still recommend washing the whitebait in clean water before consuming them.”  

“This is three days after the incident occurred, during which time whitebait would have been running in fresh from the ocean, and the lower river and estuary would have undergone multiple tide changes,” the statement said.

Any whitebait caught between Friday 1 September and Sunday 3 September should be discarded.

This message also applies to other fish and watercress caught in the affected area. 

However, ECan is still asking people not to collect shellfish. “Further tests are required on shellfish before we know whether they’re safe to consume,” the statement said.