Fish tagging in The Murray Darling Basin
Through community engagement and fisher science, OzFish have expanded the opportunity for our members to collect valuable data while doing the sport we all love, fishing.
Fill out the form below if you would like to get involved.
OzFish are partnering with Charles Sturt University, recreational fishers, and First Nations people to better understand how to design and implement basin-wide scientific programs with citizen scientists to address the gaps.
OzFish Unlimited volunteers will be undertaking recreational fishing within set fishing boundaries and set times to capture data from aquatic species in the Murray Darling Basin.
The project involves measuring each aquatic species caught and determining if that species has been tagged. If it has been previously tagged, data will be collected. If not, trained volunteers will undertake an intricate process to place a specialised tag into the aquatic species. All individuals involved will have received training to ensure all aquatic species are treated with care and in the approved manner.
Fish tagging programs are a vital part of any fishery manager’s tools for assessing fish populations. Conducted properly, tagging can yield a wealth of information about movement patterns, habitat utilization and population structure.
The long-term goal is to find a role for citizen scientists and river rangers in fish tagging programs across the Murray-Darling Basin, integrated into government initiatives as trained and trusted partners.
Community science is a rapidly expanding field where millions of participants each year gather data on hundreds of topics ranging from the weather to water quality, threatened and endangered species, and such far off topics as water bugs and environmental DNA.
LATEST NEWS
7 DECEMBER 2023 | Charles Sturt helps to integrate ‘citizen scientists’ into fish movement research
Charles Sturt University’s Gulbali Institute for Agriculture, Water and Environment has partnered with OzFish and Karltek to work with a select group of anglers to undergo training in fish handling and Passive Integrated Tagging (PIT) procedures.
8 NOVEMBER 2023 | OzFish launches first ever recreational angler tagging program across Murray Darling Basin
Recreational fishers are being given a golden chance to show how valuable they are in the Murray-Darling Basin as part of an innovative new fish tagging project. For the first time, a program is entrusting freshwater anglers and river rangers with this important work.
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