The revival of the Nymboida River, which was devastated by fires then floods over the past three years is well underway and the endangered Eastern Freshwater Cod are already benefitting from work by the Clarence chapter of Oz Fish.
The revival of riparian areas of the Nymboida River funded by the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal’s Yulgilbar Foundation will see 5km of exotic weeds being removed from the riparian zone and 1000 local native plants established in their place.
An additional three hectares of weed management near the river and another 1000 trees are being funded by the Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife through its bushfire recovery restoration grants.
The trees will be planted on community education days, which are backed by support from the NSW Recreational Fishing Trusts, and will see local Landcare groups collaborate with recreational fishers to drive the restoration of fish habitat on the Nymboida River and secure the future of the endangered eastern freshwater cod and other inhabitants, including platypus.
“The vegetation in the riparian zone, especially after the fires was pretty fragile,” said Alacia Cockbain, OzFish Project Officer – NSW Coast.
The Nymboida River is one of the last remaining breeding grounds of a wild population of eastern freshwater cod and as recently as the 1980s there were less than 1000 cod left in the wild.
To help the species survive, a breeding and restocking program for the freshwater cod has resulted in fingerlings being released while an artificial spawning habitat has been trialled in the river over the past year to further replenish numbers.
One important element in protecting the eastern freshwater cod is the ban on all fishing in the Nymboida River, Mann River and all its tributaries upstream of its junction with the Clarence River from the beginning of August until the end of October.
This three-month fishing closure is during their breeding season when the cod are quite aggressive protecting their eggs from predators.
“They are totally protected,” Oz Fish’s NSW Coast Program Manager Ryan Lungu said.
“If people catch them by accident outside of the breeding season, they should keep them in the water and safely release them straight away.”
This article appeared in the Clarence Valley Independent, 23 August 2023.
