Have your say on the 2025/26 draft fish stocking plan

The Victorian State Government has committed to stocking another 10 million fish in 2025/26 to improve recreational fishing opportunities and rebuild native fish populations.

Fish stocking is funded from a combination of recreational fishing licence fees and State Government initiatives, including the Go Fishing and Boating Victoria Plan.

In late February 2025 the 2025/26 Draft Fish Stocking Plan was released for public consultation, which detailed the planned release of 10 million fish, across 12 species, into more than 244 locations in Victoria between July 2025 and June 2026.

Over a 6 week period, the VFA received 37 submissions on the draft plan from angling clubs and independent anglers across the whole of Victoria. These submissions were tabled at a series of three Vic Fish Stock Forums held online to represent the different regions in Victoria.

These forums were attended by approximately 30 rec fishing representatives from angling clubs, independent anglers and the WIRFAB network.

Each submission’s merit was discussed at the forums and compared with current fisheries management policies and its potential to improve recreational fishing opportunities.

The discussions at the forums have resulted in 16 changes compared to the 2025-26 fish stocking plan. The final 2025-26 fish stocking plan will be included in the 2025-26 Vic Fish Stock Report, which will be published later this year.

A big thank you everyone who wrote in with submissions, and to those who gave up their time to attend the forums and contribute to the consultation process.

The 2025/26 Draft Fish Stocking Plan has been developed in conjunction with the recreational fishing community and the VFA over several decades of annual Vic Fish Stock consultation feedback, angler catches, fish population survey data and fisheries research.

Past fish stocking in Victoria can be found by searching the Fish Stocking Database and by reading the annual Vic Fish Stock reports.

Click here to open the full Draft Fish Stocking plan (PDF)

Key highlights in the 2025-26 draft stocking include:

• Over 1 million native fish into Rocklands Reservoir
• Over 80 Family Fishing Lakes to be stocked with catchable rainbow trout in June and September school holidays
• Over 1 million fish into Lake Eildon, including 220,000 brown and rainbow trout
• 16 metro lakes and the Goulburn River to be stocked with stonker rainbow trout
• 800,000 native fish into Lake Eppalock
• Devilbend Reservoir brown trout increased from 10,000 to 15,000
• Lake Glenmaggie rainbow trout increased to 15,000, plus 2,000 brown trout
• Dusky flathead stocking in Gippsland Lakes, Bemm River and Mallacoota inlet
• Melton Reservoir to receive 140,000 native fish
• Campaspe River to receive 215,000 native fish including 15,000 more trout cod
• Goulburn River – Upstream of Kevington to be stocked with more trout cod
• Kiewa River to continue to receive 30,000 Macquarie perch and 20,000 trout cod
• Timbarra River bass doubled to 20,000
• Lake Elingamite bass increased to 15,000
• Merri river to be stocked with 10,000 estuary perch for the first time complementing river health initiatives
• Flooding Creek (Port of Sale) to receive 5,000 estuary perch
• Dunyak Moira first time stocking and to receive 10,000 golden perch each year
• Arcadia “fish out” Pondage to receive annual stocking of 100 on-grown cod
• Nursery Reservoir (Macedon) and Shadforth Reserve Island Pond to receive 2nd stocking of on grown rainbows in T3 holidays

Total numbers proposed in the 2025/26 draft stocking include:

For further information about the Fish Stocking Plan, the Vic Fish Stock Forums, or the consultation process, please email Mark Adams, Fisheries Manager at mark.adams@vfa.vic.gov.au