Twenty-five Golden Perch, also known as Yellowbelly, will be tagged with mini-transmitters to track their movement to better understand how the species use the lower part of Gunbower Creek.   

The North Central Catchment Management Authority (CMA) is coordinating the project with funding from The Living Murray’s Intervention Monitoring program.

North Central CMA’s project officer, Kathryn Stanislawski, explains further.  “The small transmitters are about two grams each and will be surgically placed in 25 fish captured below Koondrook Weir.  The fish will then be returned to the creek upstream of Koondrook Weir where they will swim past the loggers which will record their movements for up to six months.

Kathryn emphasized that if anyone catches a fish with a visible tag, they should return it to the creek, unharmed.  “Most of the Golden Perch tagged will be juvenile fish, below the minimum legal size of 30cms.  We are asking if anglers catch these fish they carefully place them back in the creek.  Fish over 30cms will be tagged with an external tag making them easier to identify.  If any larger fish are caught it would be appreciated if anglers could record the number and their location and then follow the instructions on the tag.” 

The logging equipment, suspended in the water column, is critical infrastructure.  The North Central CMA advises all water users to take care and not tamper with the equipment.  

The project is being coordinated with the assistance of Goulburn-Murray Water delivering environmental flows to attract the fish and encourage their movement, and specialist fish ecologists who have provided a critical role in the design and implementation of the project. 

If you would like more information about the project, please contact the North Central Catchment Management Authority on 03 5448 7124 or visit www.nccma.vic.gov.au

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