General News
24 December, 2025
Survey confirms river restocking success
The saying goes: There's plenty of fish in the sea.
However, it also appears there are plenty of fish in the river.
More specifically, the Wimmera River.
A report by Energy, Environment and Climate Action, the Native Fish Report Card Program, found the highest abundance of golden perch in nine years of monitoring.
And in even better news, 84 per cent of the 116 species caught in the 2025 survey were legal size, with the biggest measuring 57cm and weighing more than 4kg.
The 2025 survey catch confirms the program to restock the river is working well in the Wimmera, which the Victorian Fisheries Authorities said comes as no surprise, considering they have released over 1.1 million fish in the river since 2016.
Two freshwater catfish were caught during the period of the survey.
The perch and Murray Cod were the two larger-sized native species recorded in the 2025 survey, while the smaller species of Australian Smelt, Common Galaxias and Flatheaded Gudgeon were also recorded.
The exotic fish species Common Carp, Goldfish, and Redfin were also recorded in the 2025 survey, as they have in all 9 past samples, while Eastern Gambusia was detected this year, having not been found last year but was found each year otherwise.
The survey also noted the existence of Eastern Long-Necked Turtles and yabbies.
Casting a closer look at the golden perch statistics, the report found there was an average of 11.12 fish per 1km of waterway.