Attention Murray cod lovers

There's a new project underway to find and describe information relating to stuffed Murray cod in pubs around the Murray-Darling Basin. It is described as being part cultural heritage, part environmental history and part biology. And it could be a lot of fun. But your help is needed.

Researcher Paul Humphries has set up a website requesting the whereabouts of trophy Murray cod on the walls of pubs so he can measure and research them. Why? You ask.

Well Paul says that it depends on the fish. For some stuffed fish, there is just the fish, and in that case, there is not a lot he can do with it. But most trophies have the name of the angler, sometimes the date and even where it was caught. If he has the location and date, then there is a lot of potential to get some interesting information – assuming there are enough of them around.

Firstly, to have dates, sizes and locations of trophy fish would be an important source of data about what sorts and sizes of fish were being caught in the local rivers at particular times in the past. Any information about the date and location of the catch will give an insight into what was there historically.

Secondly, relating the size of the trophy fish to when it was caught may give an idea what constituted a 'trophy-sized' fish and how it has changed over time. And that may relate to how common or rare big fish were in the past – if really big fish are rare, then fish that are not quite so big will become trophy fish.

Lastly, for those interested in such things, a map of the Murray-Darling Basin pubs that have trophy Murray cod on their walls, could be quite useful. Paul says that he's sure that pubs with several large Murray cod on their walls would be attractive places to visit for the keen fisher!

For more information and to see how you can help, go to: https://paulhumphriesriverecology.wordpress.com/2015/02/03/stuffed-murray-cod-in-pubs/v