The Allan Labor Government is bolstering fish stocks in 11 waterways across regional Victoria, helping to improve the populations of threatened fish species.
Minister for Outdoor Recreation and Environment Steve Dimopoulos announced the successful stocking of a record 141,000 trout cod and nearly 100,000 Macquarie perch into 11 waterways backed by a $15 million investment into expanding fish hatcheries.
Five waters shared in the 141,000 trout cod fingerlings, which is nearly triple the previous best of 51,000 fingerlings in 2001. Amongst them were the Campaspe and Kiewa rivers, where trout cod have been absent for decades, along with Corryong Creek, and the Goulburn and King rivers.
The Kiewa River, in Victoria's northeast, is the big winner this year with 30,000 trout cod and 30,000 Macquarie perch stocked.
Macquarie perch were once abundant in northern rivers but declined significantly and have been extinct in the Kiewa River since 1939.
Their recovery has been prioritised through stocking, habitat restoration, monitoring and dedicated research.
The VFA's Snobs Creek team and partners are pursuing the holy grail of 'Cracking the Code' to breed Macquarie perch in captivity, reducing the need to source fish from the wild every breeding season.
In a first for the program, male Macquarie perch that were bred at Snobs Creek in 2019 and 2020 have now been used to fertilise eggs from wild females, to produce some of this season's fingerlings.
Other waters to share in the Macquarie perch fingerlings stocked recently include Cudgewa and Hughes creeks, the Broken, Buffalo, Goulburn, Ovens and King rivers, and Lake Dartmouth.
For the full list of stocked waters and fish numbers, visit www.vfa.vic.gov.au/fishrecovery.
As stated by Minister for Outdoor Recreation Steve Dimopoulos
"Record stocking of trout cod is another important step towards the recovery of this threatened species, which was once common in Victoria's northeast rivers."
"Our investment into growing our hatcheries is paying dividends and will mean more fish in our rivers and lakes across the state."
