NSW leading the nation in fish passage improvement

14 November 2011

The largest native fish passage restoration program in Australia is being led by State Water Corporation in NSW, with the equivalent distance of Sydney to Cairns set to be opened up through projects along the state’s rivers.

Construction of 12 fishways and the removal of six redundant weirs through the Fish Superhighways program has opened up 1,317 kilometres of waterway, with an additional 1,398 kilometres to be opened up from projects over the next two years.

State Water Acting Chief Operating Officer Amit Chanan said the corporation had worked with the NSW Department of Primary Industries Fisheries section to prioritise fish passage at some 300 State Water dams, weirs and culverts across NSW.

“Australian native fish including Murray Cod, Golden Perch and Silver Perch depend on migration to breed, seek refuge and find habitat,” Mr Chanan said.

“By introducing the Fish Superhighways program we are facilitating such migration and redressing the historical legacy of restricted fish passage along our rivers.”

Department of Primary Industries Fisheries Senior Conservation Manager Matthew Gordos said the installation of electronic tag reading devices in most of the projects helped to evaluate their effectiveness.

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

Funding for various projects has been sourced through initiatives by the Murray Darling Basin Authority, NSW Rivers Environmental Restoration Program, NSW Catchment Management Authorities, Water for Rivers, the NSW Environmental Trust and NSW Recreational Fishing Trust.

Catchments across the state are included in the program, with projects already completed on the Brunswick, Darling, Lachlan, Macleay, Macquarie, Murray, Murrumbidgee, Namoi, Richmond and Tuross rivers.

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COMPLETED STATE WATER FISH PASSAGE WORKS
 
 

Structure	Catchment	Waterway	Fish passage type
Gunningbar Creek Weir	Macquarie	Gunningbar Creek	Fishway
Warren Weir	Macquarie	Macquarie River	Fishway
Duck Creek Regulator	Macquarie	Duck Creek	Fishway
Crooked Creek Regulator	Macquarie	Crooked Creek	Fishway
Bumbuggan Creek Weir	Lachlan	Bumbuggan Creek	Fishway
Island Creek Weir	Lachlan	Island Creek	Fishway
Colligen Creek Weir	Murray	Colligen Creek	Fishway
Balranald Weir	Murrumbidgee	Murrumbidgee River	Fishway
Weir 32	Darling	Darling River	Fishway
Lake Cargelligo Weir	Lachlan	Lachlan River	Fishway
Tarabah Weir	Murrumbidgee	Yanco Creek	Fishway
Marebone Weir	Macquarie	Macquarie River	Fishway
Wellington Dam	Macquarie	Bushrangers Creek	Weir removal
Lake Keepit Weir	Namoi	Namoi River	Weir removal
Mullumbimby Creek Weir	Brunswick	Mullumbimby Creek	Weir removal
Manyweathers Weir	Richmond	Richmond River	Weir removal
Hickeys Creek Weir	Macleay	Hickeys Creek	Weir removal
Gulph Creek Weir	Tuross	Gulph Creek	Weir removal

 

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

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