Vic Fish Stock 2011

Fisheries Management Paper
Fisheries Victoria Management Report Series No. 82 June 2011

Vic Fish Stock meeting outcomes - 2011

Contents

Introduction
2011 Vic Fish Stock outcomes
2010 salmonid stocking outcomes
2011 native fish stocking outcomes
Background

Improving your fisheries statewide
Improving Recreational Fishing opportunities
Recreational Fishing Licence Trust Account
Recovering from drought
Fisheries Victoria contacts

Appendix 1 – Proposed fish stockings
Gippsland
North East
North West
Port Phillip
South west

Appendix 2 – Fish Stocking for Recreational Purposes Policy

Figure 1 Map of Victoria showing Department of Primary Industries regional

Introduction

2011 Vic Fish Stock outcomes

The Vic Fish Stock outcomes proposed a total of 587,250 salmonids and 2,141,000 native fish to be stocked into Victorian public waters in 2011-12. Details of the proposed species and numbers to be stocked for each waterbody are presented in Appendix 1.

2010 salmonid stocking outcomes

The 2010 Vic Fish Stock proposed 466,138 salmonids to be stocked in 2010. A total of 441,782 salmonids were stocked as part of the Vic Fish Stock commitments which included the Premier and Family Fishing lakes. No Chinook salmon were available for stocking this year. Two additional stocking initiatives were also undertaken this year including bushfire recovery stockings undertaken early in 2010 and drought recovery stockings in November 2010. The result was a total of 706,282 salmonids released in 2010. A breakdown of released salmonid species and numbers is presented below.

2011 native fish stocking outcomes

The 2011 stocking plan for native fish was developed from the 2010 Vic Fish Stock report. It scheduled 1,612,300 native fish to be stocked in 2011. A total of 2,088,740 native fish were stocked which exceeded this commitment. A breakdown of released native fish species and numbers is presented below.

Background

The Vic Fish Stock regional consultative meetings (formerly known as CONS) were held in March and April 2011 to plan the number of salmonids to be stocked in 2011 and the number of native fish that will be stocked in 2012.

The Vic Fish Stock meetings provide a forum for discussions on fish stocking regimes and related recreational fisheries management issues. Five regional meetings were held. The meetings involve invited representatives from Fisheries Victoria, the Victorian Recreational Fishing representative body (VRFish), the Australian Trout Foundation, Native Fish Australia, Water Management agencies, Catchment Management Authorities (CMAs), Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE), and angling association representatives. This report summarises the key outcomes of the 2011 Vic Fish Stock meetings. Draft outcomes from the meetings are prepared by Fisheries Victoria and circulated to meeting participants prior to the publication of this document.

Stakeholders have input into the process that determines what species go where and when through their participation in the annual Vic Fish Stock regional consultative meetings.

The meetings:

• Review the current year's stocking plan and identify any modifications
• Draft the following year's stocking plan
• Identify other issues relevant to fish stocking
• Identify current fishery management issues

The Department acknowledges and commends the important contribution made by stakeholders who provide their time to prepare for, and attend these meetings.

Vic Fish Stock meetings held were:

• Gippsland meeting held at Traralgon on the 2^nd March 2011
• South West meeting held at Colac on the 9^th March 2011
• Port Phillip meeting held at Geelong 16^th March 2011
• North West meeting held at Bendigo on the 30^th March 2011
• North East meeting held at Benalla on the 4^th April 2011

Improving your fisheries statewide

The following is an overview of statewide inland fisheries management programs that relate to fish stocking.

Improving Recreational Fishing opportunities

Fisheries Victoria has been working on a number of projects to further enhance recreational fishing facilities and opportunities across the state. A brief overview of key activities is presented below.

Enhanced Recreational Fishing Program

A number of programs that have been operating under the Enhanced Recreational Fishing Program have now been completed or will draw to an end as of 30 June 2011.

Significants achievements that relate to inland fisheries include:

Improving Angler Access

Various on-ground works to improve access for recreational fishers in priority areas have been funded. Works have been completed at Lake Purrumbete and Aringa Reservoir near Port Fairy. Other projects on the Howqua, Jamieson and Delatite Rivers are near completion.

Guide to Inland Angling Waters of Victoria

A revised online version of the guide became available in April 2010. Further revisions were conducted in 2011 to reflect previously drought affected waters that have now returned to water levels that are suitable for stocking.

Developing New Fisheries

Planning and actions associated with the development of new fisheries and improved fishing opportunities have been undertaken. This includes:

• Improving fishing opportunities in Nagambie Lakes through stocking
• Developing a trout cod recreational fishery
• Developing a Macquarie perch recreational fishery
• Stocking Australian bass in Gippsland
• Creating a recreational fishery in Devilbend Reservoir.

New native fish production facility in Victoria

DPI has completed new native fish production facilities at Snobs Creek. The $1.9 million upgrade will significantly increase fingerling production of Murray cod and golden perch. It will also expand the capacity to breed endangered fish such as Macquarie perch and trout cod. Infrastructure upgrades were also made to improve the salmonid hatchery at Snobs creek

Classification of Victorian Inland Waters

A model which classifies key Victorian rivers and streams as either salmonid, native or mixed fisheries was applied to key waters across the state in 2010. Results have been published in Inland Waters Recreational Fishing Classification (Fisheries Management Report Series No. 80) November 2010.

Increase Fish Stocking by 30%

DPI achieved a target of increasing fish stocking by 30% over the 4 year period between 2006 and 2010. The increase included both salmonid and native fish species. A record 1.9 million fish were stocked in 2010.

Go Fishing in Victoria

The Go Fishing in Victoria initiative has now been completed. It was implemented between 2006 and 2011 with the aim of improving recreational fishing facilities and infrastructure at selected sites and promoting opportunities for fishing as a family activity.

Premier Lakes

Access and facilities have been upgraded at the following five lakes:

• Lillydale Lake
• Eildon Pondage
• Kennington Reservoir (Bendigo)
• Jubilee Lake (Daylesford)
• Hyland Lake (Churchill)

These lakes were part of the Premier Lakes program and will now be managed as Family Fishing Lakes. These waters will be stocked prior to the second and third term school holidays with 'ready to catch' advanced yearling rainbow trout.

Premier Rivers

Recreational fishing access and facilities at sections of the Hopkins, Goulburn and Kiewa rivers have been improved. The Hopkins River was launched as the first Premier River in 2009. Improvement works are being finalised on the Kiewa and Goulburn Rivers.

Information will be available for each of the river stretches identifying key access points and the type of fishing experience and facilities that they provide.

A wide range of other informative products have also been produced as part of the initiative. These are designed to assist budding fishers and experienced anglers to make the most of Victoria's wide range of recreational fisheries.

Australian bass stocking update

The Australian bass stocking program was expanded in 2010 with over 100,000 fingerlings released into seven Gippsland waters, including three rivers for the first time.

Recent advances in the genetic knowledge of Victorian bass stocks confirmed Gippsland bass are essentially one stock rather than several, as previously thought. This means brood stock bass from many Gippsland catchments within their natural range can now be used when breeding fingerlings, which has increased brood stock collection opportunities and consequently, fingerling production.

The bass stocking program has benefited from extensive brood stock collection by researchers from the Arthur Rylah Institute (DSE) and is well supported by VRFish, Native Fish Australia and local Gippsland anglers.

New waters to receive Australian bass fingerlings were the Mitchell, Avon and Thomson rivers, which contained low density populations of wild bass, some of which have been used to breed the fingerlings being stocked. Lake Glenmaggie, Blue Rock Reservoir, Lake Narracan and the Macalister River were also stocked for the second consecutive year which is the ideal stocking strategy for these fisheries.

Development of a Macquarie perch recreational fishery

Fisheries Victoria aquaculture scientists from the Fisheries Research Branch (FRB) at Snobs Creek made a major breakthrough in getting captive Macquarie perch to successfully breed. The scientists used improved diet management and advanced hormone therapy to induce egg maturation and spawning.

During the 1980s and 1990s, Fisheries Victoria produced Macquarie perch for stocking programs using brood stock caught from the wild during the spawning season. But despite numerous attempts over the last half century Fisheries Victoria have been unable to breed Macquarie perch using fish held in captivity at Snobs Creek until now.

Macquarie perch are a valued recreational fish in Victoria that can only be taken from a few waters in accordance with strict catch limits and an annual three-month closed season.

This breeding breakthrough will greatly assist the recovery of Macquarie perch in its natural range, given declines in its distribution and abundance.

In 2009, Fisheries Victoria instigated a new breeding program for Macquarie perch that saw 3,550 fingerlings released into Expedition Pass Reservoir and Hollands Creek, near Tatong, last year. This year 8,300 Macquarie perch were released into three waters over summer, including 5,600 fingerlings which were bred in captivity. Waters stocked included Expedition Pass, Lake William Hovell and the Ovens River near Gapstead.

Lake Nagambie fishery assessment

Native fish stocking was reintroduced into Lake Nagambie in 2008 when 200,000 golden perch and 100,000 Murray cod fingerlings were released. More than 600,000 golden perch and 150,000 Murray cod have now been stocked into Lake Nagambie over the last three years.

It is critical to determine if these fish have survived and grown and to assess the benefits from this stocking. Scientists from Fisheries Research Branch at Snobs Creek are currently evaluating the stockings using two different approaches.

The first involves interviewing anglers between December 2010 and Easter 2011 to gauge how the fishery is performing. Anglers are interviewed while they are fishing and are asked about their catch, time spent fishing, their target species and level of angling satisfaction. Local anglers will also be used as an ongoing point of contact for Fisheries Victoria. The information will be used to help gauge the success of the stocking program to fine tune management strategies.

The second approach involves directly sampling the fish in Lake Nagambie to see what species are present and to quantify the survival, growth and proportion of stocked fish within the overall population. Results of the assessment will be available in late 2011 or early 2012.

The stockings and fisheries assessment are well supported by the Nagambie Angling Club, whose members are keen to see the fishery return to its former glory.

Trout cod fishery update

Researchers are undertaking routine surveys of Lakes Kerferd and Sambell to assess the performance of the stocked trout cod. These investigations indicate that there has been survival and growth of the stocked fish. Preliminary results suggest that the Kerferd stockings of trout cod are present along the dam wall in reasonable numbers with multiple year-classes present. Thirty four trout cod were sampled ranging from 7 cm to 32 cm in length (including 7 larger than those previously recorded and probably from the first or second stocking). Trout cod in Lake Kerferd seem to be absent from areas other than the dam wall and spillway area.

In Lake Sambell much lower abundance of trout cod was found with six individuals up to 18 cm recorded at the end of the survey. Most trout cod in Lake Sambell were sampled from within 50 m of the boat ramp and habitat that seems of reasonable quality on the opposite shore appeared to be largely unutilised.

Development of a recreational catfish fishery

Catfish were a popular angling species but numbers have declined. The demand for catfish recreational fisheries is high and several waters with potential for development as recreational catfish fisheries have been identified. RFL funding has been sought to assist in the ongoing development of these potential fisheries through assisting the collection of broodfish, securing a catfish breeder, and stocking fish to create new catfish fisheries.

Murray cod return to Lake Charlegrark

In December 2010, 300 Murray cod were released in Lake Charlegrark, a popular recreational lake in the west Wimmera. The stocking was carried out by Fisheries Officers from the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) in conjunction with members of the Wimmera Angling Association.

When Lake Booroopki began drying out in the late 1990s, local anglers agreed to let the lake be harvested by a commercial fisherman who relocated any Murray cod and sold other fin-fish. Funds from this sale were placed in a trust fund. This trust fund was used to purchase 300 yearling Murray cod. The cod weighed 150-200 grams each and measuring 15-20 cm. They are expected to reach breeding maturity within three to four years and the legal minimum length size of 60 cm within four to six years, depending on lake conditions.

Charlegrark was also stocked with 3500 Murray cod in May 2011 as part of the drought recovery project.

Snobs Creek hatchery upgrade

Victoria's new native fish production facility at Snobs Creek will significantly boost the supply of fish for restocking. The completion of this $1.9 million project will allow for a significant increase in the production of traditional recreational fishing species such as Murray cod and golden perch.

The new native fish hatchery will also expand the Department of Primary Industries' capacity to breed endangered fish such as trout cod and Macquarie perch.

The upgrades have seen a series of new ponds built to accommodate brood fish, three new plankton ponds for juvenile fish and an eco-friendly wetland for the treatment of effluent water. It also includes new state-of-the-art facilities for incubating and rearing native fish.

The new native fish facilities complement the trout and salmon production capacity at Snobs Creek. The Victorian Government has approved the allocation of funding to expand and upgrade the Snobs Creek trout hatchery.

$218,000 has been allocated from revenue raised through the sale of recreational fishing licences to buy fish tanks, a fish counter and fish grader as well as increasing water flow and oxygen supply to the salmonid hatching house.

The funds will also be used to secure the supply of up to 140,000 yearling trout (mainly brown trout) to stock drought recovery waters over the next two years.

Recreational Fishing Licence Trust Account

Every year the Victorian Government, through the Recreational Fishing Licence Trust Account, disburses revenue derived from the sale of Recreational Fishing Licences to projects that will improve recreational fishing in Victoria. The trust has allocated an annual grant of $200,000 to Fisheries Victoria to secure additional native and salmonid species for the statewide stocking program.

Chinook salmon

Over the last 40 years, Chinook salmon have been bred at Snobs Creek and stocked into western district lakes where they have created exceptional trophy fisheries. At its peak, this fishery was one of the few land locked Chinook salmon fisheries in the world, generating extraordinary angler interest, participation and associated regional economic and social benefits.

Chinook salmon production at Snobs creek has fallen significantly over the last 6 years with the last significant stocking event of 20,000 in 2006. A number of factors have impacted on Chinook salmon production including increase in environmental stress on fish associated with long-term drought conditions. These conditions resulted in elevated water temperatures, reduced water flow, increased incidence of disease and poor reproductive success.

Despite considerable 'in-house' effort to mitigate Chinook salmon production risks including; new tanks, bulk oxygen supply, fish health management protocols, photo-period controlled lights (for out of season production) and expert technical workshops, Chinook salmon production remains unreliable.

Three year classes of Chinook salmon currently reside at Snobs Creek.

Funding has ben sought from the Recreational Fishing Licence revenue to improve the reliability of fish production and stocking of Chinook salmon at DPI Snobs Creek. The project will include an assessment of the genetic diversity of the Snobs Creek population to investigate the extent to which inbreeding may be impacting on reproductive outcomes. It will also analyse fish production methods and trends in order to identify key production issues impacting on the reliability of Chinook salmon breeding, develop a 'best practice' Chinook salmon breeding Standard Operating Procedure. The outcomes of this work will culminate in the 2012/13 breeding season.

One Million Murray cod in Eildon

The Lake Eildon fishery is receiving a major boost in Murray cod stocking. The project, titled 'Murray Cod Million – Lake Eildon', will release one million cod over the next three years as the first part of a 10 year massive boost to Murray cod numbers in Lake Eildon. In 2010, 383,000 Murray cod were stocked into the lake.

The project is being monitored by Fisheries Victoria scientists from Snobs Creek. The impact of this large pulse of juvenile cod will be tracked by combining expert angler feedback with formal surveys undertaken by the researchers. The fish have all been marked to identify them as the stocked fish. The researchers will survey the lake in year three of the project to track how the fish are surviving and growing.

Recovering from drought

Over the last decade, south east Australia has been profoundly impacted by the effects of long term drought. Below average rainfall, above average temperatures and reduced water recharge has resulted in many lakes and impoundments drying up or returning to intermittent wetland conditions. Recreational fishers have seen a dramatic reduction in the number of available fishing lakes and impoundments available to them during this period.

In October 2010, Recreational Fishing Licence revenue was approved to procure and stock fish (predominately trout), to re-establish recreational fishing in waters recovering from long-term drought conditions. This project comprises the following three elements:

Part A

The immediate procurement of fish (mainly trout) in 2010 from private hatcheries and release fish predominately into Western district lakes and impoundments

Part B

Providing a contribution toward operating costs and some capital items to increase production of trout at DPI's Snobs Creek trout hatchery in preparation of increased demand to resume normal stocking levels in these lakes in the future, and

Part C

Extending the drought recovery stockings for native fish as further recovery of lakes suitable for native fisheries occurs.

Part A and C of the project have substantially been completed with more than 177,000 trout released across 17 waters and 171,000 Murray cod and 5000 golden perch stocked into 16 waters.

Arrangements are well underway to expand trout production capacity at Snobs Creek including the purchase of capital equipment (fish graders, counters, tanks and piping etc). Work already underway to expand the hatchery has led to an increase in trout survival and improved growth. Snobs Creek is now confident in meeting new drought recovery trout stocking targets.

On top of significant rainfall in spring, Victoria has now experienced extraordinary rainfall throughout summer including major flooding in many northern regions. As a consequence, a significant number of previously dry lakes and impoundments predominately in north-western Victoria have now filled and are excellent candidates for native fish stocking. The increase in the number of waterways available for native fish stocking has created a unique opportunity to reinvigorate recreational fisheries through expanding fish stocking. Many of these waters once supported high quality, stocked recreational fisheries.

Normally these lakes would be considered for stocking at this current round of Vic Fish Stock meetings in March-April 2011, however to capitalise on improved conditions, native fish were sourced urgently and stocked in May 2011.

Fisheries Victoria contacts –

For inland fisheries management assistance:

Manager Inland Fisheries:
Anthony Forster - 03 9658 4375

Fish stocking enquiries:
John Douglas - 03 5772 0254

For compliance assistance:

To report fisheries offences call 13 FISH (13 3474).

For state-wide fisheries management assistance:

Fisheries Victoria, 1 Spring Street, Melbourne: 03 9658 4375

For general enquiries:

Call the DPI Customer Service Centre on 136 186 or visit www.depi.vic.gov.au

Appendix 1 – Proposed fish stockings

Using the tables

The tables present a summary of five Vic Fish Stock consultation meetings held across regional Victoria. They reflect the key outcomes from the minutes recorded at each meeting that were circulated to all participants prior to finalisation. Proposals for stockings were received prior to meetings. These proposals were discussed and a final position determined by consensus. The outcome represents the shared decision of the meeting attendees resulting from this assessment.

Appendix 2 – Fish Stocking for Recreational Purposes Policy

1. Introduction

Fisheries Victoria stocks approximately 1 million native and salmonid fish per annum into public waters throughout Victoria for recreational fishing purposes. This policy provides guidance in the setting of priorities for stocking of Victorian waters.

2. Background

Annual stocking plans are developed through a consultative process known as CONS, involving representatives from Fisheries Victoria, the Victorian Recreational Fishing Peak Body (VRFish), Water Management Authorities, Catchment Management Authorities (CMAs), the Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE), and other relevant stakeholders. The CONS process nominates waters to be stocked, species composition, numbers, size, timing and priority for each water. Actual numbers of fish stocked may vary from those nominated in response to environmental or other factors.

Waters (or a section of a waterway if barriers exist to prevent movement of fish) will not be stocked when there is reasonable evidence that the fish species (native or introduced) to be stocked may constitute an unacceptable risk to an existing threatened species or community (e.g. listed under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1995 (FFG) or the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC)). This is consistent with the Guidelines for Assessing Translocations of Live Aquatic Organisms in Victoria (2003).

3. Scope

This policy defines the principles and criteria used by Fisheries Victoria when prioritising waters in the recreational fish stocking program. It is intended to assist Fisheries Victoria to respond to changes in environmental conditions such as water quality and quantity, drought and bushfires, altered management practices by water and land managers, and changing stakeholder values and expectations.

This policy applies to stocking in all Victorian waters except those designated as Premier Lakes, as part of the 'Go Fishing in Victoria' initiative, which is due for completion in June 2011.

This policy does not apply to stocking for conservation purposes as this process is managed by the DSE.

The role of Fisheries Victoria

The role of Fisheries Victoria is to manage fisheries within an ecologically sustainable development framework. Key activities include securing the resource, sharing the resource and growing the resource. In relation to managing inland recreational fish stocking, Fisheries Victoria's key roles are to:

• Communicate, and where appropriate, consult with stakeholders;
• Increase and quantify angler satisfaction levels;
• Advocate for measures to preserve and improve recreational fishing opportunities;
• Maximise the benefits from recreational stocking within a restricted budget;
• Coordinate and invest in research to assist fisheries management decisions; and
• Promote recreational angling as a healthy recreational activity.

Responsibility for securing the resource is shared with other agencies such as DSE, water and land management agencies and CMAs. Matters not under the control and management of Fisheries Victoria include access to water storages, allocation of water flows, habitat protection/improvements or waterway health.

Fisheries Victoria develops strategic stocking programs that:

• Maximise the returns to recreational anglers;
• Create public value;
• Enhance and support natural recruitment;
• Are consistent with the translocation protocols and guidelines;
• Provide for equitable access for a range of stakeholders;
• Satisfy cost-benefit analysis; and
• Consider long-term sustainable management strategies.

Stocking is conducted in accordance with annual native and salmonid stocking plans. The stocking plans are developed utilising information from a range of sources, including advice provided by the CONS process.

4. Definitions

For the purposes of this policy, the following terms are defined:

• Angler access - general authorisation by the water and/or land manager to allow fishing activities taking into considering any restrictions such as fishing methods, areas and methods of entry and times.
• Angler popularity - An assessment of how important the water is considered in both local and regional context, not necessarily based purely on numbers of visitors but how highly it is valued by anglers.
• Authority to Stock - approval from the relevant resource manager to allow translocation of fish to a particular water body.
• CONS -Regional Fisheries Consultation meetings held annually that determine annual stocking plans and nominate stock assessments to be undertaken.
• Conservation purposes -A need to maintain or enhance populations of threatened or endangered species through stock enhancement.
• Endemic species - species unique to a defined place or region.
• Family Fishing Lake -small lake, impoundment or retarding basin generally less than 3 ha in area. These waters are stocked with rainbow trout prior to second and/or third term school holidays or Fishing Week events to provide angling opportunities for junior anglers, families and people with limited mobility.
• Fish sizes - fry (<5g) fingerlings (5-30g) yearlings (trout 30g-100g, natives ->200g) advanced (100 - 200g) premier and ex-broodstock (>1000g)
• Inland fishery - one conducted in inland waters. Inland waters, as defined in the Fisheries Act, include all waterways, public dams, swamps, billabongs and lakes other than the Gippsland Lakes, Lake Tyers, Mallacoota Lake and Wingan Inlet. It does not include any water or waters on private property.
• Location infrastructure -describes the locations capacity to cater for a variety of fishing methods and abilities, and the facilities available i.e. boat ramps, fishing platforms, all purpose access, toilets, liberation truck access etc.
• Native species - fish species that naturally occurs within Victoria.
• Productivity - refers to a particular waters capacity to produce and sustain healthy populations of fish.
• Salmonids - In this document, only refers to rainbow trout, brown trout and chinook salmon.
• Self Sustaining populations - populations of either native or salmonids that are able to successfully support an active fishery under average environmental conditions.
• Stocking - is a subset of translocation and refers only to the release of hatchery-reared fish.
• Suitable receiving waters - those waters with sufficient angler access where the habitat is suitable for sustaining fish populations and where water quality and quantity is sufficient to allow the stocked fish to enter the fishery.
• Translocation - the deliberate human-assisted movement of wild-fish or hatchery-reared fish from one location to another.
• Translocation protocols - protocols prepared under the 'Guidelines for Translocations of Live Aquatic Organisms in Victoria' relevant to stocking.

5. Principles for Stocking of Waters to Enhance Recreational Fisheries

Waters will be considered for stocking with native or salmonid fish species where all of the following conditions are satisfied:

• Authority to stock has been provided by the relevant resource manager;
• Suitable receiving waters exist for species to be stocked;
• Stock assessments determine self-sustaining populations do not exist or should be augmented for recreational fishing purposes;
• The translocation is in accordance with translocation guidelines, including relevant policies;
• The increased public value outweighs the cost of stocking as evidenced through angler visitation, demand and return to anglers.

A key component of the suitability of receiving waters is the likelihood that water levels will be appropriate for angling. Water levels will be assessed as 'permanent', 'mostly permanent', 'intermittent' and 'unreliable'. Stocking will not be considered for 'unreliable' waters.

Proposals to stock in any water other than those stocked since 1995 or with any non-native species other than rainbow trout, brown trout and Chinook salmon will need to comply with the Translocation Guidelines.

Once the principles for stocking of waters have been satisfied, Fisheries Victoria will then prioritise a potential stocking water according to its social value and economic return. Premier waters, Family Fishing lakes and those waters specified in Government commitments are deemed to hold high social and economic values and will be given priority in determining the Fisheries Victoria annual stocking plan. The priority for stocking other potential waters is determined by the 'Criteria for Prioritisation of Waters for Stocking'.

Criteria for Prioritisation of Waters for Stocking

The criteria that will be used to prioritise waters for stocking, in order, are:

• Productivity of the water;
• Angler popularity and usage;
• Proximity to similar angling opportunities;
• Level of angler access.
  In circumstances where the quantity or size of fish available for stocking falls below that specified in the annual stocking plan (eg through the impacts of drought on fish production), Fisheries Victoria reserves the right to allocate the available stock to ensure that:
• Enough fish are stocked into a particular water to provide a reasonable return to the angler; and
• An equitable distribution of available fish is achieved across waters (this may include regional equity).

Adaptive Management

Decisions to stock waters are made in a complex and changing system. To ensure that the social and economic return from stocking is maximised, assessments will be made prior to each liberation event so that the principles and criteria for stocking continue to be met. Fisheries Victoria reserves the right to vary the stocking regime accordingly.

Fisheries Victoria also reserves the right to decide what fish species are to be stocked in specific waters and the size those fish are to be when released, based on suitable receiving waters. Where appropriate, consultation with stakeholders will occur prior to this decision being made. In the event that insufficient fish are available from Fisheries Victoria hatcheries, additional fish may be sourced from private or interstate hatcheries, subject to meeting translocation policies.

Decommissioning

Once notification from the relevant water authority has been received by Fisheries Victoria of an intended decommissioning of a water body, further stocking will be investigated and reviewed after future water management regimes have been clearly identified

6. Policy Related Documents

• Fisheries Victoria Management Report Series Regional Fisheries Consultations Meeting Outcomes (annual)
• Protocols for the Translocation of Fish in Victorian Inland Public Waters
• Guidelines for Assessing Translocations of Live Aquatic Organisms in Victoria
• Fisheries Act 1995
• Fisheries Regulations 1998
• Fisheries Victoria policy Responding to the Impacts of Drought and its Consequences on Inland Recreational Fisheries

Further Information

Enquiries relating to this procedure should be directed to:

John Douglas Senior Project Officer – Inland Fisheries Fisheries Victoria
(03) 5772 0254