RGA Landcare

Fishing for a cause: getting native fish back into our river system one raffle ticket at a time

Every dollar raised from the Edward Kolety Fishing Challenge enables the Deniliquin Kolety Lagoons Landcare Group to put fish, including 4 threatened species back into the river system.

Capacity building - LEP_23-030_LLC012

The issue

Since the introduction of European Carp native fish numbers in rivers and creeks across the country have been dramatically reduced. Many of the members of the Deniliquin Kolety Lagoons Landcare Group (DKLLG) can remember a time when they could successfully fish for many of our native fish including the Eel tailed catfish, which is now a threatened species. The Group wanted to expand their current threatened fish species program and needed the funds to do it. They came up with the idea of reinvigorating the Deniliquin fishing competition on the Edward River.

The solution

Since 2023 the DKLLG has been running the Edward Kolety Fishing Challenge. The event is now a fixture in many calendars and a major drawcard for the town. The weekend includes 2 community nights where everyone can come together to support the raffles, learn about the work that the DKLLG does and watch some yabby racing! During the day around 450 people enjoy fishing on the Edward River with lots of prizes to be won. The support that the event receives from sponsors, registrations and the community is amazing.

The impact

All money raised from the event goes into putting fish back into the Deniliquin Lagoons and local rivers and creeks including the Edward, Wakool and Billabong systems. Each year the number of Golden perch, Murray cod and the threatened Eel tailed catfish, Olive perchlet, Purple spotted gudgeon and Southern pygmy perch released continues to grow. These releases are making a real difference to the growth of these populations and are having an impact on local ecosytems.

From a community perspective the Fishing Challenge is a great way to engage with the local and wider community about the work the Group is doing with the threatened species program and how they can help and make a difference.

Author: Janet Manzin

Key facts

  • People love fishing and seeing the money raised going to something tangible.
  • Four threatened fish species are released every year with money raised from the Fishing Challenge.
  • The volunteers that run and help out on the day are the reason the event is such a success.

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