Over 60 community members from Torrumbarry to Koondrook joined representatives from the North Central Catchment Management Authority (CMA), the Murray-Darling Freshwater Research Centre, Department of Primary Industries and Goulburn-Murray Water at a Gunbower Creek community event held in Cohuna recently.

The event provided an opportunity for community members to hear about the North Central CMA’s Gunbower Creek Riparian and Aquatic Habitat Restoration and Reconnection Project, including the installation of a fishway at Thompsons Weir, fencing and revegetation works, as well as the results of recent local fish surveys.

The highlight of the evening was the chance for anglers from the community to share information and local knowledge about past fish populations caught in Gunbower Creek.  Stories of Murray cod, Trout cod and Golden perch were shared.  Redfin, an exotic species, were reported as being present in large numbers between the 1940s–1960s.  One local angler could recall looking through the cracks of his raft to see hundreds of Redfin in the clear water following flooding below Cohuna weir.  Records of catches of rare species including Blackfish, Macquarie perch, Bony bream and Freshwater catfish were also shared on the night.

Kathryn Stanislawski, North Central CMA project officer attended the evening and said “We appreciate the community support of this project, which was reinforced by the terrific attendance on the evening.  The information provided by anglers will be collated and used to support and manage the formal fish monitoring data collection, and fill in some of the knowledge gaps, particularly about the fish that were found in Gunbower Creek in the past.”

The lack of historical information about fish populations in Gunbower Creek is an issue which Mr Clayton Sharpe, Aquatic Scientist at the Murray-Darling Freshwater Research Centre discussed during the evening.  Mr Sharpe also highlighted the population make up of the key species found in Gunbower Creek, and the influence and extreme importance of flood events in the recruitment of some species.

For further information please contact: 

Communications Officer, North Central CMA
PO Box 18, Huntly VIC 3551
t: 03 5448 7124
e: info@nccma.vic.gov.au