Tweed River Chapter

Volunteers from the Australia’s fishing conservation charity, OzFish Unlimited, have teamed up with landowners, Tweed  Landcare and Tweed Shire Council to plant  two thousand native trees for native fish along the banks of Johansen Creek, south of Murwillumbah.  In assisting the landholders, OzFish volunteers planted 600 native trees and shrubs along the banks of the creek located on Woodland Valley Farm. The native plantings will protect the bank from future erosion, filter runoff following heavy rain, regulate water temperature by providing shade and create a source of food for the native fish populations through attracting insects to the water’s edge. Originally a dairy farm that had experienced depleted and compacted soils, the owners Fabian and Jodie always wanted to see the farm return to a more sustainable and healthy state. The vegetation between land and river, commonly termed as the riparian zone, is vital to the health of our waterways. By relocating the cattle, we can allow the riparian zones to work their magic and do what they do best – create excellent fish habitat and protect our waterways.

Tweed residents and anglers are being called upon to provide 'local intelligence' to limit the spread of one of the world's worst pest fish - tilapia - in Tweed Coast waterways. A public awareness campaign, supported by Tweed Shire Council and fishing conservation charity OzFish Unlimited, is being promoted to monitor tilapia populations, particularly in Cudgen Lake and Bogangar Canal. The fish was first confirmed there in 2014 and is the only known Mozambique tilapia population in NSW. Tilapia was introduced into Australia as an ornamental fish in the 1970s and can tolerate a wide range of habitats, including fresh and brackish water. Due to their aggressive nature, especially when breeding, tilapia impacts on native species, reducing their numbers, damaging native habitats and affecting water quality.

OzFish Tweed River Chapter and Tweed Shire Council have improved native fish habitat with erosion stabilisation work on farmland close to where Dunbible Creek joins the Tweed River. The Tweed Shire Council project, just two kilometres upstream from Murwillumbah, was partially funded by the NSW Environmental Trust and initiated in partnership with OzFish Unlimited, Australia’s only fishing conservation charity, with support from their major partner BCF – Boating, Camping Fishing. A series of rock and log structures have been installed to replicate naturally occurring snags, and five ‘fish hotel’ units are being placed into a small embayment within the site.

he Bray Park Wier Tidal Protection Project was put forward by the local council to potentially raise the weir wall to prevent saltwater incursion from entering the towns water supply. The Chapter worked to ensure that if the weir is upgraded, that fish passage would be adequate.  It was noted that the fish ladders already in place are deemed to be less than adequate in allowing fish of all sizes to pass. Chapter President Simon Fitzpatrick is a member of the Projects reference group, representing recreational fishers.

Tweed Shire Council hosted a National Tree Day planting activity. On this day, the OzFish Tweed River Chapter was there to assist in the riparian planting which will benefit a variety of flora and fauna including fish habitat. The site is within the catchment for Terranora Broadwater, which is an important estuarine habitat in the Tweed River estuary and also a good fishing spot. We worked alongside a variety of local volunteers, including Tweed Landcare and Stone & Wood Brewery and successfully re-vegetated the riparian zone with over 1,000 trees, plants and grasses.