Native Fish Releases 2002-03
Note Number: FN0160
Published: May 2003
1. Native Fish Stocking Program
The department's native fish stocking program is designed to enhance native fish populations or establish new populations. Fish releases have two objectives: conservation and the provision of recreational fishing opportunities. In the case of trout cod the immediate aim is to ensure survival of this
endangered species.
Stocking Plans are developed annually as part of the man-agement consultation process between Fisheries Victoria and DPI Regional staff. The meetings consider in detail the performance of existing stocking programs, the results of stock assessments, creel surveys, angler diaries and anything
else that has or might impact on the fishery e.g. environmental conditions, water levels. Requests by client groups for changes to current stocking programs and the implementation of new stocking pro-grams are considered. VRFish, the Victorian Recreational Fishing Peak Body, represents recreational anglers
at these meetings.
Stocking Plans are subject to 'last minute' variation due to natural factors e.g. flood, drought, or man-made impacts such as excessive algal blooms, major works on storages, etc. Explanatory notes are provided where a planned release has been amended. DPI Regional staff
and VRFish agree to amendments before implementation.
| Water Stocked | Month/Year | Fish Size(z) | Aust. Bass | Golden Perch | Murray Cod | Silver Perch | Trout Cod |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albert Park Lake | - | - | - | U/S | - | - | - |
| Avoca River | 2/03 | 0.7 | - | 17,000 | - | - | - |
| 2/03 | 1.0 | - | - | 10,000 | - | - | |
| Batyo Catyo Lake | - | - | - | U/S | - | U/S | - |
| Blue Rock Dam 6 | 12/02 | 0.06 | 25,200 | - | - | - | - |
| 3/03 | 0.34 | 10,000 | - | - | - | - | |
| Broken Creek | 3/03 | 1.0 | - | 15,000 | - | - | - |
| Broken River | 3/03 | 1.0 | - | 20,000 | - | - | - |
| Buffalo Lake | 3/03 | 1.0 | - | 10,000 | - | - | - |
| Bullen Merri Lake | 11/02 | 1.2 | 10,000 | - | - | - | - |
| Cairn Curran Res. | - | - | - | U/S | U/S | - | - |
| Campaspe River | |||||||
| Eppalock to Elmore | 1/03 | 1.0 | - | - | 10,000 | - | - |
| Elmore to Rochester | 1/03 | 1.0 | - | - | 10,000 | - | - |
| Axedale to Elmore | 3/03 | 0.8 | - | 20,000 | - | - | - |
| Charm Lake | 1/03 | 200 | - | - | 5007 | - | - |
| 3/03 | 0.8 | - | 5,0001 | - | - | - | |
| Crusoe Reservoir | 3/03 | 0.8 | - | 5,000 | - | - | - |
| Cudgewa Creek | 1/03 | 1.0 | - | - | 10,000 | - | - |
| Cullulleraine Lake | 2/03 | 1.3 | - | - | 20,200 | - | - |
| 3/03 | 0.8 | - | 10,000 | - | - | - | |
| 3/03 | 0.36 | - | - | - | 10,000 | - | |
| Eildon Lake | - | - | - | U/S | U/S | - | - |
| Eppalock Lake | - | - | - | U/S | U/S | - | - |
| Expedition Pass Res | 2/03 | 1.2 | - | - | 250 | - | - |
| 3/03 | 0.8 | - | 1,000 | - | - | - | |
| Glenmaggie Lake 6 | 12/02 | 0.06 | 16,800 | - | - | - | - |
| 3/03 | 0.34 | 15,000 | - | - | - | - | |
| Goldfields Reservoir | 3/03 | 0.8 | - | 2,000 | - | - | - |
| Goulburn River | |||||||
| Stewart's bridge to Toolamba | 1/03 | 0.96 | - | - | 25,000 | - | |
| Stewart's bridge to Toolamba | 1/03 | 189 | - | - | 2,5007 | - | - |
| Greens Lake (Corop) | - | - | - | U/S | - | - | - |
| Gunbower Creek | 1/03 | 0.9 | - | - | 31,000 | - | - |
| Hume Reservoir | 3/03 | 1.0 | - | 35,0002 | U/S | - | - |
| Kangaroo Lake | 1/03 | 200 | - | - | 1,0007 | - | - |
| 3/03 | 0.8 | - | 10,0001 | - | - | - | |
| Kerford Lake | 3/03 | 0.8 | - | 5,000 | - | - | - |
| Kiewa River (Kergunyah) | 1/03 | 1.0 | - | - | 20,000 | - | - |
| King Lake | - | - | - | U/S | - | - | - |
| Kow Swamp | 3/03 | 0.8 | - | 15,0001 | - | - | - |
| Laanecoorie Reservoir | 3/03 | 0.8 | - | 10,000 | - | - | - |
| Landsborough Reservoir | - | - | - | U/S | - | - | - |
| Little Boort Lake | - | - | - | U/S | - | - | - |
| Little Murray River | 1/03 | 0.9 | - | - | 19,000 | - | - |
| Loch Garry | - | - | - | U/S | - | - | - |
| Loddon River | |||||||
| Above Bridgewater | 1/03 | 200 | - | - | 1,0007 | - | - |
| Above Bridgewater | 1/03 | 0.95 | - | - | 10,000 | ||
| Bridgewater to Kerang | 1/03 | 0.95 | - | - | 10,000 | ||
| At Newbridge | 3/03 | 0.7 | - | 7,500 | - | - | - |
| At Bridgewater | 3/03 | 0.7 | - | 12,500 | - | - | - |
| Serpentine | 3/03 | 0.7 | - | 12,500 | - | - | - |
| At Jarklin | 3/03 | 0.7 | - | 7,500 | - | - | - |
| At Kerang | 3/03 | 0.7 | - | 5,000 | - | - | - |
| Macalister 6 | |||||||
| below Lake Glenmaggie | 3/03 | 0.34 | 2,350 | - | - | - | - |
| Meran Lake | - | - | - | - | U/S | - | - |
| Mokoan Lake | - | - | - | U/S | U/S | - | - |
| Nillahcootie Lake | - | - | - | U/S | - | - | - |
| Ovens River | 1/03 | 1.0 | - | - | - | - | 44,2608 |
| Redbank Reservoir | - | - | - | U/S | - | - | - |
| Reedy Lake (first) | 1/03 | 200 | - | - | 5007 | - | - |
| 3/03 | 0.8 | - | 5,0001 | - | - | - | |
| Richardson River | 3/03 | 0.9 | - | 10,000 | - | - | - |
| Sambell Lake | 3/03 | 0.7 | - | 5,000 | - | - | - |
| Serpentine Creek | 3/03 | 0.7 | - | 5,000 | - | - | - |
| Seven Creeks | 3/03 | 1.0 | - | 5,000 | - | - | - |
| Taylors Lake | - | - | - | U/S | - | - | - |
| Tchum Lake | - | - | - | U/S | - | - | - |
| Tullaroop Ck (Deep Ck) | 3/03 | 0.8 | - | 5,000 | - | - | - |
| Victoria Lake (Shepp.) | 3/03 | 1.0 | - | 2,500 | - | - | - |
| Waranga Basin | - | - | - | U/S | - | - | - |
| Wooroonook Lake | - | - | - | U/S | - | - | - |
| Wimmera River | |||||||
| Elmhurst to Green Ck | 3/03 | 1.25 | - | 5,000 | - | - | - |
| Dimboola | 3/03 | 1.25 | - | 10,000 | - | - | - |
| Jeparit | 3/03 | 1.25 | - | 7,000 | - | - | - |
| Horsham | 3/03 | 1.25 | - | 5,000 | 5,000 | - | - |
| Glenorchy | 3/03 | 1.25 | - | 5,000 | - | - | - |
| Gross's bridge | 3/03 | 1.25 | - | 2,000 | - | - | - |
| Horsham | 3/03 | 0.38 | - | - | - | 5,000 | - |
| Yarriambiack Creek | - | - | - | U/S | - | - | - |
| Species Total | 679,350 | 296,500 | 189,950 | 15,000 | 44,260 |
2. Authorised Client Group Fish Releases
The Department authorises fish releases by client groups. The stockings may complement the Department's program, or may be waters for which the Department is unable to provide fish. Requests by client groups are considered in the consultation process described in Part 1. above. Approved proposals must conform to the requirements of the Department's Policy Statement on Stocking Native Fish. Releases authorised by the Department for which fish stocking details have been confirmed are listed below. Authorised releases for which no stocking report has been received will be listed at some future date when the required information is available. To indicate the extent of client group fish releases, details are presented as a separate section below.
NOTE: Under Section 530 of the Fisheries Regulations 1998, it is an offence to stock fish into any Victorian water, both pub-lic and private, without the written per-mission of the Director, Fisheries Victoria. Penalty: up to $2,000.
| Water Stocked | Client Group | Month/Year | Fish Size (z) | Aust. bass | Golden perch | Murray cod |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anderson Lake (Chiltern) | Black Dog Game Fishing | - | - | - | U/S | U/S |
| Broken Creek 5 | Picola Football Club | 3/03 | 0.8 | - | 1,000 | - |
| Bullen Merri Lake5 | Futurefish Foundation | 11/02 | 1.2 | 15,000 | - | - |
| Caravan Park L. (Wedderburn) | Loddon Shire | 5/03 | 2.0 | - | 600 | - |
| Goulburn River 4 | ||||||
| Below McCoy's Bridge | Futurefish Foundation | 1/03 | 0.9 | - | - | 45,000 |
| Harrietville Dredge Hole | Harrietville Prog. Ass. | n/a | - | - | 500 | - |
| Hazelwood Pondage | Futurefish Foundation | 3/03 | 0.7 | 6,800 | - | - |
| Little Murray River 4 | Futurefish Foundation | 1/03 | 0.9 | - | - | 10,000 |
| Loddon River 4 | ||||||
| Bridgewater to Kerang | Futurefish Foundation | 1/03 | 1.0 | - | - | 15,000 |
| Numurkah Lake | Numurhah Fishing Club | 4/03 | - | - | 4,040 | - |
| Goldfields Reservoir 2 | Central Goldfields Shire | 3/03 | 0.8 | - | 1,000 | |
| Wimmera River 4 | Futurefish Foundation | 3/03 | 0.8 | - | - | 5,000 |
| Richardson River 4 | Futurefish Foundation | 3/03 | 0.9 | - | - | 6,000 |
| Species Totals | 21,800 | 7,140 | 81,000 |
3. Total Releases
| Aust. Bass | Golden Perch | Murray Cod | Silver Perch | Trout Cod | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Department | 79,350 | 296,500 | 185,950 | 15,000 | 44,260 | 621,060 |
| Client Groups | 21,800 | 7,140 | 81,000 | - | - | 109,940 |
| Species Totals | 101,150 | 303,640 | 266,950 | 15,000 | 44,260 | 731,000 |
4. Notes
The Native Fish Release Program 2002/2003 involved 50 transport man-days with vehicles travelling 22,247 km.
Total release weights were 1,652kg for Departmental releases. These totals do not include the weights for several client group releases where no weight of fish data is available (noted by 'n.a.'). The month and year of fish release is expressed as 02/03. The first two digits are the month i.e. 3 = March, the second two digits show the year 02 = 2002, 03 = 2003.
U/S - Water conditions unsuitable for stocking ie. low water level.
(z) - Average weight per fish in grams.
1 - Internally marked for research purposes.
2 - Golden Perch stocked by Fisheries Victoria on behalf of NSW Fisheries.
3 - Fish purchased, transported & released by Fisheries Victoria using RFL funds, on behalf of the Shire.
4 - Fish transported & released by Fisheries Victoria on behalf of the Futurefish Foundation.
5 - Fish purchased, transported & released by Fisheries Victoria on behalf of the Club.
6 - RFL funds contributed towards the purchase of these Australian bass.
7 - Dart tagged for research purposes.
8 -Funded by Department of Sustainability & Environment
(DSE).
Acknowledgments
This Information Note was developed by Marc Ainsworth