New homes for fish in the Bidgee
In a first for Leeton, essential fish habitat in the Murrumbidgee River was recently installed providing vital habitat for native fish.
Volunteers from OzFish and Murrumbidgee Landcare worked together to raise funds and plan and install eight giant snags and several smaller ones.
Paul Smith, OzFish Chapter President said, “over the past twenty years, there has been a great deal of restocking, but little has been done in the way of creating the necessary habitat for these fingerlings.
“We’ve got to do something to help restore the health of the river instead of simply putting in the fish and hope they will survive.
“We are excited to be undertaking important fish habitat restoration and glad we could provide new homes for native fish,” said Mr Smith.
OzFish Manager for the Murray Darling Basin, Braeden Lampard said that the project will give native fish in the region a much-needed boost.
“Snags play a vital role in the life cycles of many native fish. They provide fish with places to find food, seek refuge from the current, shelter from the sun, hide from predators such as birds, and are a great place to hide in waiting to ambush their prey or find a new mate.
“All good fishers know that a snag is the perfect place to fish around because they know that’s where the fish live.
“Murray cod in particular love to lay their eggs on the submerged woody debris. Less snags in the river have meant less places for these fish to deposit their eggs.
“Snags have an integral ecological and structural importance in our waterways. They play a key role in stabilising riverbanks and create the flow conditions that Australian fish prefer.”
Unfortunately, millions of snags have been removed from rivers and waterways across the country leaving fish without the habitat they need to thrive.
Landcare NSW CEO, Dr Adrian Zammit said he was thrilled to see the partnership continuing to deliver successful on-ground results for the Landcare community.
“The fantastic work done by our Landcare NSW community in partnership with OzFish is great to see. The breadth of projects delivered and the results delivered so far are clear evidence that Natural Resource Management challenges require close collaboration and partnerships between like-minded organisations.”
The project was made possible by the OzFish-Landcare NSW partnership, Driving Fish Habitat Action, with funding support from the NSW Recreational Fishing Trust and OzFish’s major partner BCF – Boating, Camping, Fishing.