Recreational fishing

Category

Barriers to fish screen adoption

By Lucy Stuart November 29, 2023

Fish screens can be a useful tool for irrigators and lifesavers for fish — without fish screens over irrigation pumps, debris and wildlife can be sucked up into pipes that draw water from rivers. This causes fish and other creatures to become trapped and die, which in turn partially or fully blocks the pipes, forcing

Gaining some mussels – New developments in Glenelg Freshwater Mussel breeding

By Lucy Stuart October 31, 2023

Due to some heavy lifting by the Arthur Rylah Institute (ARI) captive breeding of the critically endangered Glenelg Freshwater Mussels (Hyridella glenelgensis) is being trialled for the first time. All bad puns aside, this important work ultimately aims to help recover the mussels and prevent their extinction. Four Glenelg Freshwater Mussels. Source: Tim Fernando Mussel

How have Australian fish changed over the past few decades?

By Lucy Stuart October 20, 2023

Within the Murray Darling Basin (MDB), experts have estimated a decline in native fish abundance of ~90% since European settlement. Things such as changes to the hydrological regime, habitat degradation, river regulation and infrastructure, over-fishing, and impacts from alien species are all contributing to the ongoing decline (Koehn and Lintermans 2012; Lintermans 2013). Ongoing monitoring

A hook a day keeps the doctor away – New survey finds fishing contributes to wellbeing

By Lucy Stuart September 26, 2023

We know that Australians love to fish - the types of recreational fishers are vastly diverse across Australia, with fishing meaning something different for everyone. In 2000, the first national scale recreational fishing survey was conducted, estimating that 19.5% of Australians aged five and older recreationally fish (Henry and Lyle 2003). This number was substantially

Maccas in the Macquarie River

By Lucy Stuart September 18, 2023

Macquarie perch were once abundant in their namesake, the Macquarie River, yet are now extremely threatened throughout the Murray-Darling Basin.  The species is considered extinct in SA and endangered in NSW, VIC and ACT. Extinction is looming for this little fish, with only four isolated wild populations left in NSW, spanning less than a combined

The plight of Southern Pygmy Perch and the local efforts for recovery

By Lucy Stuart August 31, 2023

Once used as a common bait fish across the Murray-Darling Basin, the now threatened Southern Pygmy Perch (SPP) has now disappeared from most historically known locations. In NSW there are only three broad locations remaining located nearby the towns of Dalton, Holbrook and Albury. The upper Lachlan drainage near Dalton is the most far-north population

Redfin perch and the EHN virus

By Joy Becker and Lucy Stuart July 19, 2023

Epizootic haematopoietic necrosis virus (EHNV) is a lethal virus that infects fish through the body surface or gastrointestinal tract. Once in the host, it multiplies in the blood forming organs such as the spleen and kidney and destroys them in the process, ultimately killing the fish. EHNV is only present in Australia, endemic to catchments

Trout and trout stocking: acknowledging the harm, finding the balance

By Lucy Stuart June 26, 2023

A long time ago in a galaxy (not so) far, far away ... aliens infiltrated the ranks of many native fish populations and risked their very survival. Fish may not be an alien concept to us, however, for Australia’s native flora and fauna, alien species pose a real threat. Native fish declines are a big

Rare footage of small-bodied fish in the wild!

By Lucy Stuart May 26, 2023

Recently our attention was grabbed by this stunning footage of galaxiids in the Mornington Peninsula area. We absolutely needed to know more! Read on for a short interview with the young videographer. Lucy: How old are you and where are you from? Henry: I am currently 18 years old and completing year 12. I live

Why don’t we farm Tilapia in Australia?

By Lucy Stuart October 24, 2022

Tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus or the Mozambique mouthbrooder) is an invasive species in Australia, posing a significant threat to the endemic native fish and aquatic ecosystems. Traditionally found in Southern Africa, this species is incredibly adaptive and fast-growing, guaranteeing its spot in the top 100 of the world’s worst introduced species (NSW DPI). The fish was

Floods and fish – how can flooding help fish and aquatic ecosystems?

By Kate McKenna September 28, 2022

Australia’s Murray-Darling Basin, like many other catchments and basins globally, naturally fluctuates between periods of drought and periods of flooding, and has followed this pattern for more than 100 million years. Over time, its many native species have learnt and adapted to this pattern, so that the natural fluctuations between ‘boom and bust’ are now

To stock or not: the case for Barramundi

By Kate McKenna August 22, 2022

Barramundi (Lates calcarifer - also known as the Asian sea bass or the Giant sea perch) is a commonly angled, native Australian fish. Within Australia, Barramundi can be found along the northern coasts and inland rivers in Queensland, Western Australia, and Northern Territory. Looking globally, Barramundi have also left their mark as an introduced species