A successful bream tracking study leads to similar research with dusky flathead.

The Minister Responsible for Fisheries, Bob Cameron has recently announced an $86,000 grant to track the movement of dusky flathead in the Gippsland Lakes.

This project will be funded through the Recreational Fishing Grant Program, which invests revenue generated from the sale of Recreational Fishing Licences (RFL) into projects that benefit Victoria’s recreational fishers.

This research will allow Department of Primary Industries (DPI) scientists to investigate the movement and behaviour of dusky flathead, by using acoustic tags. Acoustic tracking allows scientists to record the movements of fish, providing vital information relating to habitat, breeding ground preferences and response to environmental conditions which is important information for future management decisions.

DPI scientists are hopeful that this study will be just as successful as a recent study on black bream in the Gippsland Lakes.

The black bream study started in December 2004, with DPI scientists working alongside Nicholson Angling Club representatives to catch 69 black bream for tagging. Each fish was implanted with an acoustic transmitter (pinger) that gives out an ultrasonic signal. Fixed receivers (listening stations) pick up the transmission and record details such as time, date and the identity of the fish. The greatest advantage in using acoustic tracking technology is that the fish do not have to be re-caught to retrieve the information.

People who are interested in this study are able to follow the movements of the tagged bream on the DPI website. The Fishtrack website can be viewed through a link from the ‘What’s New’ section on the DPI website http://www.dpi.vic.gov.au/fishing.

The Fishtrack website shows that one tagged black bream travelled up and down the Nicholson, Tambo and Mitchell rivers for more than 3200 kilometres in just over a year.

Sharing the benefit in Premier Lakes

To ensure fishers are given every opportunity to catch large “Premier” trout that are stocked into two of Victoria’s Premier Lakes, Fisheries Victoria have amended recreational catch limits for Lillydale Lake and Kennington Reservoir (Bendigo).

The bag limit of five trout per person per day now includes a cap on the number of large trout that can be taken from the two lakes. In any bag of five trout, no more than two trout may be 35 centimetres or greater in length.

At approximately 1 kilogram in weight, “Premier” trout are five times larger than those trout normally stocked into Victorian lakes. The change in bag limits will allow more anglers to share this unique opportunity.

This amendment came into affect at midnight 14 September 2006, just in time for the release of 350 “Premier” trout into Lillydale Lake for the Family Fishing Event on 16 September 2006. Unless earlier revoked, the amendment made by Fisheries Notice will continue until midnight 13 September 2007.

Release of the Mallacoota Inlet Fisheries Reserve Management Plan

The Minister for Agriculture, Bob Cameron declared the Mallacoota Inlet Fisheries Reserve (MIFR) Management Plan on 21 September 2006.

The MIFR Management Plan describes:

• The geography of Mallacoota Inlet, information on recreational fishing activities and other uses/values of the inlet that may affect recreational fishing opportunities;
• Current management arrangements for fishing activities and for other relevant values/uses of the inlet and surrounds;
• Goals, objectives, performance indicators and actions for management of fishing activities in the MIFR; and
• Process for participating in management of other relevant non-fishing activities in and around the inlet.

Fisheries Victoria prepared the MIFR Management Plan with the assistance of a stakeholder steering committee. The steering committee included an independent chair and representatives from Fisheries Co-management Council, East Gippsland Shire Council, VRFish, Parks Victoria, Lake Tyers Aboriginal Trust and the East Gippsland Catchment Management Authority.

Copies of the MIFR Management Plan can be obtained from the DPI website www.dpi.vic.gov.au/fishing or by contacting the DPI Customer Service Centre on 136 186.

July stocking figures

Location:	Species:	Number:
Alexandra Lake (Ararat)	N/A	0
Allans Flat Dredge Hole (Allans Flat)	N/A	0
Andersons Lake (Chiltern)	N/A	0
Arboretum Dam (Euroa)	N/A	0
Bannockburn Lagoon (Bannockburn)	N/A	0
Beaufort Lake (Beaufort)	N/A	0
Berwick Springs Estate Lake	N/A	0
Blue Rock Lake	Brown Trout	10,000
Bullarto Reservoir	N/A	0
Bullen Merri Lake	Chinook Salmon	4,500
Calembeen Lake (Creswick)	N/A	0
Cato Lake (Stawell)	N/A	0
Caulfield Racecourse Lake	N/A	0
Colbrook Reservoir	N/A	0
Coliban Reservoir Upper	Brown Trout	3,000
Cosgrove Reservoir	N/A	0
Cummins Reserve Lake (Yea)	N/A	0
Dean Reservoir	N/A	0
Eildon Pondage	N/A	0
Eildon Pondage Weir	Brown Trout	205
Eildon Pondage Weir	Rainbow Trout	95
Emerald Lake	N/A	0
Esmond Lake (Ballarat)	N/A	0
Ess Lagoon (Casterton)	N/A	0
Fosters Dam (Glenrowan)	N/A	0
Gillear Lake (Warrnambool)	N/A	0
Glenmaggie Lake	N/A	0
Goldfields Reservoir	Brown Trout	500
Gong Gong Reservoir (Ballarat)	N/A	0
Gyatt Lake (Sale)	N/A	0
Jack Roper Reserve (Campbellfield)	N/A	0
Jubilee Lake (Daylesford)	N/A	0
Hepburn Lagoon	Brown Trout	5,000
Hepburn Lagoon	Rainbow Trout	5,000
Heyfield Racecourse Lake	N/A	0
Holland Creek	N/A	0
Hopkins River (Warrnambool)	N/A	0
Hume Lake	Brown Trout	37,480
Hume Lake	Rainbow Trout	10,000
Hyland Lake (Churchill)	N/A	0
Kennington Reservoir (Bendigo)	N/A	0
Konongwootong Reservoir	N/A	0
Lilydale Lake (Lilydale)	N/A	0
Macalister River	N/A	0
Macalister River (D/s of Glenmaggie)	N/A	0
Macalister River (U/s L. Glenmaggie to Basin Flat)	N/A	0
Marysville Lake (Marysville)	N/A	0
Merri River (Warrnambool)	N/A	0
Morwell Lake (Morwell)	N/A	0
Mount Emu Creek	N/A	0
Moyne River	N/A	0
Narracan Lake	Brown Trout	5,000
Newlyn Reservoir	Brown Trout	4,000
Nursery Reservoir	Brown Trout	500
Purrumbete Lake	Rainbow Trout	6,000
Rocklands Reservoir	Brown Trout	20,000
Rowville Lake	N/A	0
Ryans Creek	N/A	0
Sambell Lake (Beechworth)	N/A	0
Seagull Lake (Geelong)	N/A	0
St Arnard Old Swimming Pool	N/A	0
St Augustine's Water Hole (Geelong)	N/A	0
Talbot Reservoir	Brown Trout	1,000
Tea Tree Lake (Mortlake)	N/A	0
Tom Thumb Lake (Eaglehawk)	N/A	0
West Lake (Melton)	N/A	0
Victoria Lake (Ballarat)	N/A	0
Yarrambat Lake (Yarrambat)	N/A	0

All waterbodies marked N/A have not been stocked for this period.