RECREATIONAL fishing enthusiasts now have access to up-to-date information on the Wimmera’s major fishing waterway.
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The Wimmera River is one of 10 waterways featured on the new Native Fish Report Card, providing information about the river’s health and numbers of native fish. Target species for the river are freshwater catfish and golden perch.
Fishers, citizen scientists and community members can access information about recreational and threatened non-recreational fish species through a web-portal.
The portal will be updated with new fish population data every year. Data will be collected over the next three years to uncover fish population trends.
Other waterways featured on the report card include Gellibrand River, Glenelg River, Goulburn River, Gunbower, Lindsay and Mullaroo, Mitchell River, Ovens River, Thomson and Macalister, and Yarra River.
The program is run through Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning and the Victorian Fisheries Authority.
Funding for the program comes from the state government’s $222 million waterway and catchment health investment, recreational fishing licence fees and the Target One Million initiative.
Minister for Agriculture and Member for Western Victoria Jaala Pulford said the report card would encourage more people to use the state’s recreational waterways.
“We want more Victorians fishing more often, which is why we’re investing in the Native Fish Report Card to provide the community information on where to go fishing and what they can expect to catch,” she said.
“We can’t wait to see the benefits of our record native fish stocking and continued investment in snags for fish reflected in future report card results.”
The Native Fish Report Card can be found here.