Fish get better access with new Marebone fishway
Friday 28 October 2011
Native fish populations are set to benefit from access to an additional 214 kilometres of the Macquarie River and improved passage to the Macquarie Marshes wetlands following the opening of the Marebone Fishway today, Minister for Western NSW and Member for Barwon, Kevin Humphries, said.
Mr Humphries today announced the opening of the $3.2m Marebone Weir Fishway, 50 kilometres north of Warren.
“The fishway improves the connectivity of native fish communities in the Macquarie River and the Macquarie Marshes wetlands by allowing free movement of fish along an additional 214 kilometres of river,” Mr Humphries said.
“The fishway will assist thousands of native fish to spawn, feed and seek refuge.
“The vertical slot fishway moves water in a way that fish can negotiate through successive chambers on a gradual incline allowing their passage upstream of Marebone Weir.”
Mr Humphries said to further support native fish populations a carp separation cage is also being installed on the Fishway.
“The carp trap takes advantage of carp’s tendency to jump over submerged obstacles, providing a mechanism to separate them from native fish species,” Mr Humphries said.
“By reducing numbers of migrating carp near the entrance to the Ramsar-listed wetlands, we are providing native fish with a better chance to thrive along the river.
“Native fish, along with waterbirds, frogs and wildlife will also benefit from environmental water flows currently being delivered to the Macquarie Marshes wetlands.
“The environmental water flows will support wetland vegetation, including common reed, water couch and river red gums, that provides habitat for rare and endangered species.
“This water will support the recovery of red gums that suffered during the drought and improve their resilience to better withstand dry spells in the future.”
Construction of the fishway and carp separation cage was funded through the $181 million Rivers Environmental Restoration Program (RERP).
State Water Corporation managed the construction of the fishway, which is one of six fish passage projects State Water is managing under RERP and one of around 20 the corporation is managing state-wide.
The NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI), with support from the Central West Catchment Management Authority (CW-CMA), will take responsibility for the management of the carp trap, for an initial period of two years.
The 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: Kevin Humphries office (02) 9228 5248
