Western Murray Land Improvement Group Inc

Native Fish Salvage Project

WMLIG obtained approval and a two‑year funding agreement to deliver a Fish Salvage Project, in collaboration with NSW DPIE Fisheries and Murray Irrigation Limited (MIL), focused on recovering and relocating native fish from MIL irrigation channels to their natural river habitats during winter maintenance periods.

Self sustenance - LEP_023_LLC

The issue

The opportunity is to translocate native fish from irrigation channels into a local primary habitat, the Wakool River, during Murray Irrigation's winter maintenance shutdown. The required a translocation permit from Fisheries which was obtained.

The solution

In 2022, the Edward Wakool Angling Association (EWAA), in collaboration with WMLIG and three First Nations groups, secured funding through the NSW Recreational Fishing Trust to deliver a pilot project focused on relocating native fish from the Murray Irrigation Limited (MIL) irrigation system during the 2023 winter maintenance program.

The project supported the purchase of specialised equipment, including a purpose-built fish transport trailer and oxygenation system, and enabled the development of planning protocols to guide future community-led fish salvage activities. Co-contributions from EWAA further supported the acquisition of the transport trailer, ensuring the safe relocation of fish to local waterways for ongoing and future operations.

In 2025, DPI Fisheries and MIL committed to supporting the initiative over a two-year period aligned with winter maintenance works in 2025 and 2026. The 2025 program was undertaken on Barapa Barapa Country, where two Barapa Barapa Traditional Owners worked alongside WMLIG and MIL staff to recover native fish from irrigation channels during draining operations and successfully relocate them to the Wakool River.

The impact

109 native fish and 13 turtles were successfully salvaged from MIL channels at 16 sites across 9 days and relocated to natural waterways. Fish species included 63 Murray Cod, 33 Golden Perch, and 13 Silver Perch. Turtle species included the Eastern long-necked turtle and the Murray River turtle.

The project built on the relationships fostered during the pilot and developed new relationships, networks and trust building between different stakeholders including recreational fishers, community groups, Traditional Owners, government agencies, and the irrigation industry.                                                                                             

Author: Roger Knight

Key facts

  • • 109 native fish and 13 turtles salvaged and translocated to a local waterway
  • • 3 different native fish species caught, including several threatened species and 2 turtle species
  • • 2 Traditional Owners worked on Country
  • • Equipment purchased and project protocols developed for future use and reference.

Project Partners