Brown bullhead catfish (ameiurus nebulosus) in Lake Taupo

Brown bullhead catfish (Ameiurus nebulosus) were first discovered in Lake Taupo during the early 1980s and are believed to have originated from an illegal liberation into the southern end of the lake. A native of the southern and eastern states of America, these catfish have been in New Zealand since 1878 and are now widespread throughout the Waikato region. In 1995 the population structure, abundance, age, growth rate and diet of catfish in the littoral zone (150 mm FL) and small fish. Low numbers of catfish across all size classes were caught from exposed sandy sites. The diet of catfish was size and habitat dependent. Small catfish (