Cod Almighty!
The one million Murray cod stocked in Lake Eildon create a first-class rec' fisheryA new study has revealed Lake Eildon’s recreational Murray cod fishery is almost entirely dependent on stocked fingerlings rather than natural breeding of fish already in the lake.
Fisheries Victoria Executive Director Travis Dowling said 148 Murray cod from Lake Eildon were analysed by fisheries scientists, and 99.6 per cent were found to be stocked.
"Between 2010 and 2012, Lake Eildon received one million extra Murray cod fingerlings, funded by recreational fishing licence fees, in what was Australia’s biggest ever stocking program for the species," Mr Dowling said.
"All of those Murray cod were marked with a harmless dye so they could be distinguished from any wild fish that spawned naturally in the lake.
"The study’s results confirm that stocking Murray cod fingerlings is crucial to the long-term sustainability of Lake Eildon’s recreational fishery, which has a growing reputation for the species and is attracting more angling effort every summer."
Mr Dowling said that other stocked waters in the study included the lower Goulburn and Loddon rivers, Kow Swamp, Gunbower Creek and the Campaspe River.
"In these waters, stocked fingerling contribution to the overall Murray cod population varied considerably, as did confidence limits given small sample sizes; 18 per cent in the lower Goulburn River, 22 per cent in the Loddon River, 33 per cent in Kow Swamp, 62 per cent in Gunbower Creek and 100 per cent in the Campaspe River."
The study also measured the contribution of stocked golden perch in several of the same waters including the lower Goulburn, Loddon and Campaspe rivers, and Kow Swamp.
The largest contribution that stocked golden perch made was in the Campaspe River (65 per cent), the Loddon River (59 per cent), Kow Swamp (46 per cent) and the lower Goulburn (25 per cent).
However, none of these waters were entirely dependent on golden perch stocking, suggesting natural spawning or migration contributed meaningfully to the population and the fishery.
Mr Dowling said millions of native fish were stocked in Victorian waterways annually to improve inland fishing opportunities for anglers, and this type of science was critical to quantify the benefits, fine tune stocking plans and optimise anglers’ investment in fish stocking.
Photo credit: Boat photo from the 2015 Cod Nationals held in Victoria taken by fishing guide operator River Escapes.
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