NSW DPI Fisheries, The Koondrook and Barham Bridge Newspaper
A large number of Murray Cod have been relocated from irrigation channels in the Wakool area, thanks to collaboration between numerous individuals and organisations.
Those involved have included local landholders, Murray Irrigation, The Environmental Heritage Group, Edward-Wakool Angling Association and NSW DPI Fisheries staff.
At the end of the irrigation season, it is common for native fish to be left stranded in pools of water behind channel gates and irrigation syphons, and unfortunately, they perish.
However, on this occasion, research staff from Narrandera Fisheries Centre, supported by local fisheries officers and community groups enacted an electro fishing rescue operation to salvage and translocate the stranded fish into nearby creeks.
A proportion of the Murray cod were taken back to the DPI Narrandera Fisheries Research Centre to replenish brood stock for future restocking programs, thus helping to repopulate local rivers and creeks into the future.
This project followed a grant being awarded to the Edward-Wakool Angling Association from the NSW Recreational Freshwater Fishing Trust to identify and salvage stranded fish during the channel drawdown in known hotspots. It will continue until the end of next season’s drawdown.
This article appeared in The Koondrook and Barham Bridge Newspaper, 30 June 2022.
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