Native Fish Salvage Program
Native Fish Salvage Program
Saving native fish through local collaborations
Collaborations -
LEP_23-023_LLC007
The issue
The Fish Salvage Project was driven from a Waddi Waddi Wamba Wamba Nation elder who had seen dead and dying fish in the Murray Irrigation limited (MIL) channel system during winter drainage shutdown works. They
contacted Western Murray Land Improvement Group (WMLIG) to help with collaboratively planning a project involving indigenous people, recreational fishers, industry and agencies to recue fish and relocate them to local
waterways.
The challenge is native fish are trapped in the shallow pools left when water is drained from irrigation channels during the MIL winter maintenance shutdown. The project enabled native fish to be caught and translocated to a local primary habitat, the Wakool River.
The solution
In 2022, the Edward Wakool Angling Association in collaboration with WMLIG, and three first Nations groups received funding through the NSW recreational Fishing Trust to conduct a pilot project to rescue native fish from the MIL irrigation system during the 2023 winter maintenance program. The project funded equipment and resources to salvage the fish and develop project planning protocols that can be used by the community for future fish salvage efforts (see WMLIG Fish Salvage Final Project Report and Tyntynder Homestead (A First Nations Organisation) report ''The Otyhuca Pandyil Project''. A fish transport trailer was acquired from the funding as well as a cocontribution from the Edward Wakool Angling Association so that fish can be safely transported to local waterways for future projects in the future.
The impact
134 native fish were successfully salvaged from MIL channels at 16 sites across 9 days and relocated to natural waterways. Fish species included 78 Murray Cod, 8 Golden Perch, 4 Silver Perch, 2 Trout Cod, 39 River Blackfish and 2 Murray Crayfish. The pilot project created the opportunity to foster new relationships, networks and trust building between different stakeholders including recreational fishers, community groups, Traditional Owners, government agencies, and the irrigation industry.
Learnings
Importance of good planning and communication between Traditional Owners and contractors
Need to establish protocols for managing invasive fish species
Hauling fish up steep banks was identified as a physical challenge
A trailer has been purchased to move bulky equipment such as pumps and tanks
These lessons provide a foundation for consideration of future fish salvage operations
Key facts
- 6 Traditional Owners involved
- 134 native fish salvaged, and returned to the Wakool River
- 4 Threatened species caught including Silver Perch, River Blackfish, Trout Cod & Murray Crayfish
- Project fostered new networks, relationships and trust building