Goodbye Charlie Mitchell
1951 to 14 Sep 2015
Charles (Charlie) Mitchell died down by his beloved fish ponds near Raglan on Monday 14 September 2015. He was
64. Charlie had equal quantities of wisdom, idealism, and determination – not always a comfortable combination.
Among his achievements was the development of inanga culture techniques, and the dissemination of this
knowledge to Chile through visits to researchers there (Mitchell 1989, Mardones 2008). Charlie was an expert in the
identification and restoration of inanga spawning sites, which have been much damaged by pastoral farming and
flood control schemes, and pioneered techniques for elver passage over dams. He leaves a huge hole the community
of fishery researchers and fish enthusiasts nationwide, and we will greatly miss him. His brand of enthusiasm and
dedication was unique. Charlie is survived by his wife Jan and children Theo, Jody and Megan and six whitebait
rearing ponds.
Charlie’s qualifications and career
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Director – Charles Mitchell and Associates Ltd 2006 -....
Fisheries consultant based at Rotorua, 2002-2006
Fisheries Scientist, Freshwater Fisheries Research Division,
Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries,
Rotorua, 1975-2002
Technician, Cawthron Institute, 1975
MSc (with distinction) Zoology) - Otago University, 1975.
Charlie’s ponds viewed from Google Earth
Brendan Hicks, University of Waikato, 18 Sep 2015
http://raglaneels.com/why-us-3/meet-the-team/
Charlie with a jar of inanga
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/agribusiness/9886282/Whitebait-farmer-now-focusing-on-eels
Charlie with one of his six whitebait ponds
References
Mardones, A, Vega R, Encina F 2008. Cultivation of whitebait (Galaxias maculatus) in Chile. Aquaculture Research 39,
731-737.
Mitchell C.H. (1989) Laboratory culture of Galaxias maculatus and potential applications. New Zealand Journal of
Marine and Freshwater Research 23, 325-336.