Native Fish Report Cards

In Victoria, several agencies invest in river and riparian rehabilitation and research, along with fish stocking and enforcement.

These agencies require information on the status of native fish populations.

Until recently, data on key species has not been collected or shared in ways that agencies, fishers and others can easily obtain.

To provide more accessible information on native fish in priority rivers, ‘report cards’ have been produced for species of high conservation and/or recreational value.

What do report cards measure?

Native Fish Report Cards are brief overviews of the health of fish populations, which present survey summaries and three key indicators:

• evidence of recent recruitment to the population
• presence of multiple size classes
• presence of mature fish.

Yearly fish surveys conducted by the Arthur Rylah Institute (DEECA) record fish caught, length and weight of the largest fish caught.

Each report card also provides information regarding the fish community within a river. This includes non-target species incidentally recorded during surveys, the suite of native and non-native species known from each river, as well as environmental conditions during surveys and river rehabilitation efforts.

This project is a collaboration between DEECA, ARI, and the Victorian Fisheries Authority, supported with funding from recreational fishing licence holders.

Results from 2026

This report summarises the results of surveys undertaken in early 2026.

Results from 2021 to 2025 are housed here on the ARI website - Native Fish Report Card Program