Monitoring fish migration at two new fishways along Gunbower Creek is currently being undertaken by the North Central Catchment Management Authority (CMA).

Ms Anna Chatfield, North Central CMA Gunbower Forest project coordinator said different monitoring techniques will be used at each site to test the effectiveness of the fishways.

“Fish ecologists will be using a cage to trap fish as they move through the vertical slot fishway at Gunbower Weir.   Electro-fishing techniques will be used to detect fish that are moving through the rock-ramp fishway at Thompsons Weir.

“Monitoring will check whether the new fishways are operating at their full potential to allow a range of fish species and sizes to move freely along the Creek.   Depending on the results the fishways can be fine tuned to optimise functionality.

“The newly constructed fishways have opened up an additional 65 kilometres of unimpeded passage for native fish in Gunbower Creek.  This is important for fish such as the Silver and Golden Perch who migrate during their breeding season. ”

According to Ms Chatfield the results of the monitoring will also be important for future fishway designs. “The information gathered through the monitoring will be used to improve our understanding of how and when fish use fishways - which we can apply to the design and operation of future fishways proposed for Gunbower Creek and other waterways.”

Some minor adjustments to the Thompsons Weir fishway were completed in October 2010 after consultation with Goulburn-Murray Water operators, fish ecologists and fishway design engineers. Further refinement of the layout of the rocks in the structure may be carried out depending on the results of the monitoring.

Construction of the Thompsons Weir fishway was funded through the Australian Government’s Caring for Our Country program and is part of the North Central CMA’s Enhancing the Values of the Gunbower Ramsar Wetland site project.

Funding for the monitoring of the fishways has been provided to the North Central CMA by the Murray Darling Basin Authority through The Living Murray program. The Living Murray is a joint initiative funded by the New South Wales, Victorian, South Australian, Australian Capital Territory and the Commonwealth governments, coordinated by the Murray–Darling Basin Authority.

For further information contact Ms Anna Chatfield at the North Central CMA on (03) 5448 7124.

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