E-tag freeway for fish in Riverina

2 September 2011

Native fish in Yanco Creek now have access to more than 160km of additional waterway following completion of the Tarabah fishway at Leeton in the Riverina.

The fishway features an electronic tag reading device to track the movements of native fish past the weir.

State Water project manager Janaka Weeraratne said Murray cod and golden perch are two of the native species that will now be able to migrate past the weir.

“This fishway will open up the waterways to our native fish and allowing them to spawn, feed, seek refuge and maintain their genetic fitness."

The new fishway is a vertical slot design consisting of a series of interconnecting pools at a gradually increased height to allow native fish species to travel past the weir.

The $900,000 project was managed by State Water and produced some flow on benefits for surrounding economies, Mr Weeraratne said.

“The project contractor Gleeson Excavations was able to source concrete from Griffith and a number of other general supplies from Leeton.”

The Tarabah fishway is one of a number of projects funded by the NSW and Australian Governments through the Rivers Environmental Restoration Program (RERP) which includes investment in infrastructure to improve the health of our rivers and wetlands.

An electronic tag reading device which transmits data on fish movements past the weir was incorporated into the design to evaluate the effectiveness of the fishway.

NSW Department of Industry and Investment Acting Senior Conservation Manager Matthew Gordos said Tarabah was the seventh State Water fishway with a tag reading device.

“Essentially we catch, tag and release a selection of fish in the area and can record their movements through the fishway using the electronic readers on the entry and exit points.”

RERP is jointly funded by the NSW Government and the Australian Government’s Water for the Future - Water Smart Australia Program and aims to arrest the decline of wetlands through water recovery and effective management of environmental water.

Media contact: Jane Urquhart (02) 6841 2087 or 0429 449 711