| abbreviations | mm = millimetre, m = metre, g = grams, cm = centimetre, ML = megalitre (1,000,000 litres), ML/d = megalitres per day, cm/sec = centimetres per second, EC = electrical conductivity, > = more than, < = less than, 4WD = four wheel drive vehicle, TDS = total dissolved solids. |
| access | refers to access to the river or lake using conventional vehicle and easy walking, access requiring 4WD vehicles or extensive walking is specifically mentioned. |
| anaerobic | a deficiency of dissolved oxygen in the water, anoxic is an oxygen concentration level below the level that sustains aerobic activity. |
| bank | usually the steep part of the river channel above the usual water level, but it can also include the same section below the water level. |
| bank full | carrying capacity of the stream before spilling out onto adjacent land. |
| barbels | paired fleshy appendages located usually on the head of fish and containing sensory cells. |
| basin maps | these show most waters in each of Victoria's drainage basins, small creeks are included although most are not discussed in the text, they would contain the same species as occur in the rest of the Basin. The name of the closest township to each water is given in the text, the letter and number in blue opposite the waters name refers to the grid reference on the map of the location of that water. |
| bed | that part of the river channel that is usually or normally covered with water when the river is flowing, also can refer to the bottom of the watercourse. |
| best fishing waters | those waters that provide consistent catches of good-sized fish. |
| boulders | rock material greater than 300mm diameter. |
| brackish | water salinity of 2,400-8,000EC. |
| canegrass | species of Phragmites-commonly called phragmites. |
| cascade | white water with small waterfalls. |
| channel | that part of a river where water flows at some time and includes the bed and banks, taken to mean the whole of the depression in which the water flows before it rises sufficiently to spill over onto adjacent lands as flood water. |
| channel width | distance across the water surface from bank to bank at summer flows and measured in metres. |
| channelised/canalised | section of the river constructed (usually by straightening and/or deepening) to more rapidly move water or to drain an area of swamp. |
| client group | any organisation associated with recreational fishing, currently there are around 63 formally constituted groups. Also used as a general term for any group that DPI deals with, such as anglers, commercial fishermen, etc. |
| conservation | a concept that ensures that biota and natural systems are used in such a way as to ensure their continued existence and well being. |
| cover | a place where a fish can rest and be protected from sight, sun, high water velocity and predators. |
| critically endangered | taxon facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild in the immediate future. |
| cumbungi | Typha sp. also called bulrush. |
| degraded | the waterbody has been altered resulting in loss of quantity or quality of habitat available for biota. |
| DEDJTR | Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources former Department of Primary Industry previously part of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment. |
| detritus | small temporary vegetable material on the streambed such as leaves, bark, twigs. |
| diversions | the purpose of this section in each Basin is to show from which river, water is being diverted usually for urban use. The source of the water from a river/channel is recorded as (from), its storage into a holding reservoir, lake or dam is recorded as (into), then its final destination to a town or township is recorded as (to). Diversion also means the storage of water in an onstream reservoir from its inflowing streams. |
| EC | = Electrical Conductivity, a measure of the salinity of water. |
| encroached | applies to vegetation which is now growing within the channel in places it would not normally occur if the natural flow regime was present. |
| endangered | taxon facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild in the near future. |
| entrenched | the river has cut deeply down into the surface of the land. |
| environmental condition of waterways | condition assessed by Mitchell (1990) in The Environmental Conditions of Victorian Streams, Dept. of Water Resources, Victoria, based on riparian vegetation and bank stability. Comments by the authors of the Guide to Inland Angling Waters on the environmental condition of waterways are based on their assessment of the quality of the instream habitat. |
| environmental flow | flow that maintains biota within the channel and allows all normal ecological processes and ecological activities to continue. |
| estuary | mouth of a river where tidal effects are felt and usually contains brackish water. |
| fisheries regulations | restrictions on fishing activities imposed by state governments and enforceable under various acts. Some have been included in this publication to make anglers aware that restrictions exist and also to inform those anglers that do not require a fishing licence that they are still subject to such regulations. These regulations were correct as at September 2002 but it is the angler's responsibility to ensure they are aware of the current and complete list of fishing regulations. |
| fishway | a construction or modification to a barrier which enables fish to pass either upstream and/or downstream. A vertical slot fishway consists of a series of usually concrete boxes which ascend the barrier in a ladder form. The entry and exit openings to each box are narrow vertical slits which are offset to the extreme right and left and act as baffles to the flow, creating turbulence and areas of low velocity water within each box and at each entrance into the next box. Rock ramps are built by constructing a ramp of rubble through which water flows providing a series of small pools where fish can rest as they move up or down the ramp. They are usually installed for migration of small-sized fish which have some climbing ability. |
| Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 | establishes a legal and administrative structure to enable and promote the conservation of Victoria's native flora and fauna and provides a choice of procedures which can be used for the conservation, management, or control of flora and fauna and the management of potentially threatening processes. |
| flow | movement downstream of water confined in the channel. The term lotic applies to flowing or moving water. |
| flow regime | pattern of seasonal flow variations in any one year, usually consisting of periods of low flow during summer-autumn then high flows during winter-spring. |
| gravel | rock material 2-65mm diameter. |
| gutter | small elongated deep depression in the substrate, scoured out by increased water velocity past debris or other obstructions. |
| fresh water | salinity less than 800EC. |
| habitat | specific location where a fish carries out a particular biological activity such as spawning, feeding or resting. Such areas can be referred to as spawning habitat, feeding habitat and resting habitat. |
| heritage river areas | land that has been proclaimed a heritage river area and listed in Schedule 1 under the Heritage Rivers Act 1992andintended to be protected from a specified range of adverse activities. |
| instream | refers to that area of a waterway below the surface of the water. |
| jagging | a group of hooks is jerked through the water hoping to catch into a fish. |
| jigging | a special lure is jerked up and down to attract a bite from the fish, usually used for redfin fishing. |
| light riparian vegetation | a thin, open strip of vegetation with considerable space between trees. Dense riparian vegetation refers to a thick strip of vegetation with no large gaps between the trees. There is considerable undergrowth and access to the bank is difficult. |
| lower risk-near threatened | taxon not threatened yet but could move into vulnerable if their current decline continues or a catastrophe occurs. |
| macroinvertebrates | animals without backbones, generally visible with the naked eye and associated with freshwater systems. |
| mallee | refers to a type of eucalyptus with multiple trunks growing from a large central tuberous root, also refers to a geographical area in which they are the dominant vegetation. |
| marginal water | salinity between 800 and 2,400EC. |
| mobile/shifting sand | sand deposited on the substrate but not consolidated, usually not compacted and liable to move at high flows. |
| mud | particles less than 0.25mm diameter. |
| natural catchment areas | areas proclaimed as natural catchment areas under the Heritage Rivers Act 1992 and listed in schedule 2 and intended to be protected from a specific range of adverse activities. Comprises pristine habitat currently little affected by human activity. |
| occasional fish | only a few are taken each year. |
| open farmland | land which has been cleared of almost all trees. |
| permission to fish | most rivers have a frontage reserve and are open to public access, however permission is required to cross private farmland. Some rivers in the Maribyrnong, Barwon, Goulburn and Ovens River Basins have private property down to the bank and into the bed and permission may be needed to walk alongside or even in the river. |
| pool | a significantly deeper area in a river. In the Guide it applies to all water more than 100cm deep. Depth is usually given in centimetres but occasionally in metres in deep water. |
| pristine | assumed to be in a natural condition and known to be unchanged since European settlement. |
| put and take fishery | stocking with usually hatchery reared fish that are large enough to be of a legal takeable size and which are immediately available to anglers. |
| Ramsar | also known as the Ramsar Convention (first convened in Ramsar Iran 1971). It is an intergovernmental treaty with now (December 2000) 123 contracting parties with 1044 wetland sites designated for inclusion in the list of wetlands of international importance. There are currently 56 Ramsar sites in Australia. |
| rapids | an area of high velocity, turbulent water often with exposed boulders or rock. |
| reach | a visible length of river extending away from or adjacent to the observer, also a length of river with various water types such as pools and riffles. |
| representative rivers | rivers that were identified by the Land Conservation Council in 1990 as being representative of 16 different river-catchment types. They are in a relatively natural condition with significant geomorphic characteristics. |
| riffle | a shallow section of water with a fast flow and a disturbed surface. |
| riparian vegetation | vegetation growing on the water line, up the bank or along the very top of the bank. It is the vegetation which has the most direct affect on instream biota. |
| rock | bed rock. |
| rubble | rounded rock 65-300mm in diameter, sometimes also called cobbles. |
| run | length of flowing water with no surface disturbance and not as deep as a pool. |
| saline water | salinity exceeding 8,000EC. |
| sand | material 0.25-2mm in diameter. |
| sand banks | beds of sand exposed in the channel and usually located on the inside of bends as beaches. |
| sedimentation | the deposition of fine material (sand or mud) in the channel. |
| self-sustaining | populations of fish which through natural spawning can maintain their numbers, has the same meaning as natural recruitment. |
| size of fish | unless otherwise mentioned this refers to the size most often caught by anglers. |
| snags | woody material such as logs, branches, fallen trees, lying in the channel and usually covered by water. |
| some fish | fish can be expected to be caught fairly regularly although not on each fishing trip. |
| substrate | area of the bottom of the channel usually covered by water, or can refer to material associated with the bottom, also sometimes called bottom or bed. Usually the term substrate is used for rivers and bed and bottom is used for lakes and reservoirs. |
| taxon | a taxonomic group of any rank into which organisms are categorised. |
| thermocline | the plane of maximum rate of change of temperature. |
| threatened fish species | a list of threatened fish in Victoria, compiled by DSE/DPI on advice from relevant Departmental officers, universities and other scientific organisations and published by DSE/DPI as 'Threatened Vertebrate Fauna in Victoria'. The categories, definitions and criteria used are those defined in the International Union Conservation of Nature Red List Categories (1994). |
| translocated | wild fish moved from one water into another. |
| turbid water | turbidity is an indication of the visual aspect of water and is influenced by suspended particulate matter, both inorganic and organic detritus, colloidal matter and biogenic particulate matter such as algae contribute to the turbidity of surface waters. Turbidity is measured in NTU units by the extent to which the particles in suspension scatter light. |
| urban water diversion | water taken from a river and used for town supply. |
| vulnerable | taxon facing a high risk of extinction in the wild in the medium-term future. |
| water quality | a measure of the purity of water and its ability to support life, assessed with respect to its physical, chemical and biological factors. |
| water depth | in rivers measured vertically usually in centimetres or in metres in deep pools, and in lakes measured in metres at normal full supply level. |
| wetted area | surface area of the streambed actually covered by water at the time of viewing. |
