Challenge in the fish field

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 12, Issue 564, 29 November 1994, Page 10

Challenge in the fish field

Greg Lydon loves a challenge, and he reckons he' s found one in his job as Taranaki Fish and Game Council field officer. The challenge came firstly in familiarising himself with the vast area under his jurisdiction - the whole southern North Island - and then in promoting the region's conservation and recreation potential. Greg took over the job earlier this year from Matthew McDougall, who resigned earlier in the year to travel overseas. He entered the picture at a time of change, with the Taranaki and Wellington councils coming under the management of one field officer and one manager. However, the 29-year-old Canterbury University graduate is not daunted by the task. "I was attracted to the job because of the variety of skills and tasks involved, in addition to the opportunity of learning some new recreational activities such as fly fishing - in my own time of course," he said. His qualifications include a double science degree from Canterbury University in 1987, augmented later by an honours course in hydrology and water resources from Victoria University. The second part of his training was done while tutoring full-time at Wellington University' s geography department. This, together with a stint as research officer at the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, nicely cover the two main aspects of his new job, he says. "The work here has an administrative and a practical side. "The job with MAF involved field work, surveying the coast around New Zealand and mapping out the population density of the surf clam, a species with commercial potential for the country." At Victoria University, although fieldwork was part of the job, there was also tutoring and the general administration involved in dealing with about 200 students, Greg says. He says this experience, in addition to a working knowledge of computer application to environmental subjects, serve him well in the job. "I believe I will be able to put to use here some of the skills I picked up

at those jobs." Greg also enjoys the promotional and public relations side of the job, involving quality of water and soil and promotion of the environment. He says the support of his staff, including Taranaki Fish and Game Council secretary NoelineBarrow and senior field officers Alan Stancliffe and Peter Taylor, was a help in the shakedown process. Greg is based in Wanganui, but the job requires regular visits to Palmerston North, where he liaises with manager Peter Hill.