Helping hand for Ballarat fish hatchery

18 May 2018

The Ballarat Fish Hatchery will soon be producing even healthier trout, year-round, thanks to a $63,925 grant from the State Government's Target One Million plan for recreational fishing.

The not-for-profit hatchery, on the shores of Lake Wendouree, is mainland Australia's oldest established in 1870.

The grant has enabled the hatchery to purchase and install a water cooling tower and filtration system that will improve water quality and temperatures to ensure better conditions for growing trout.

The hatchery donates 6,000 trout annually to stock Lake Wendouree and supplies fish to the Victorian Fisheries Authority on occasion for stocking public waters across central Victoria.

The grant is being combined with $33,495 from the hatchery and $32,000 worth of in-kind work, mostly from local volunteers  who manage the day to day operations of the hatchery such as feeding, grading and fish health checks.

The new cooling and filtration technology will also improve the quality of water being returned to Lake Wendouree which, despite being in the heart of Victoria's second biggest regional centre, is one of Victoria's best stocked trout fisheries.

The Target One Million plan is investing a record $46 million, including $9 million from recreational fishing licence fees, to get more people fishing , more often, and grow participation to one million by 2020.

Learn more at www.vfa.vic.gov.au/targetonemillion

Quotes attributable to Victorian Member for Buninyong Geoff Howard

"Cooler water in the hatchery will benefit trout production over summer especially when warm weather can impact fish health and growth."

"The Ballarat Fish Hatchery played a significant role in the creation of many Victorian trout fisheries years ago so it's only fitting we provide a helping hand to improve their operations and support nearly 150 years of hard work by volunteers."