GET SHOCKED WITH ELECTROFISHING ON THE CURDIES

The Corangamite Catchment Management Authority and fishing conservation charity OzFish Unlimited invites interested community members to attend an Electrofishing demonstration at the Curdievale boat ramp on Sunday 27 June, at 1pm.

The electrofishing survey will help to provide baseline data for the ‘Curdies River Fish Habitat Restoration Project’ which seeks to put 30 wooden structures, referred to as “Fish Hotels”, in the river, providing shelter and food for local fish species.

The project will improve the fisheries. most notably Black Bream and Estuary Perch, improving outcomes for the environment and recreational fishers on the Curdies River and Estuary.The electrofishing survey will monitor 10 kilometres of the river north and south of Curdievale to see what fish species are present. This data will be compared with a second survey to be completed in a few years’ time to measure the benefits of the fish habitat works.

Austral Research & Consulting will be conducting the surveys and has over 14 years of experience in fish surveys and monitoring. They will be available to answer questions from community members about fish populations and species diversity in the river.

Project partner OzFish Unlimited will also be available to discuss with interested communitymembers and passionate anglers the benefits of fish habitat restoration efforts and how they can
get involved.

OzFish State Program Manager for Victoria, Ben Cleveland, said electrofishing is a key method for sampling fish worldwide.

“Electrofishing surveys help us to get a better understanding of the local " fishy" river residents
and provide baseline data for monitoring restoration efforts. It involves an electrical current being
delivered through the water, which temporarily stuns the fish and enables them to be collected,
measured and then returned to the water safely.”

Corangamite Catchment Management Authority Project Officer Gene Gardiner said,“Electrofishing enables us to get a great picture of the fish numbers and species in the river
before we start putting in the habitat”.

Like real hotels, these “Fish Hotels” will provide a short-stay for fish as they go up and down the river. They also attract algae and aquatic insects. The science tells us this will benefit fish populations, which is a big win for Curdies fishers,” continued Mr. Gardiner.

Interested community members and local anglers can register their attendance via the OzFish website https://ozfish.org.au/event/boggy-creek-electrofishing-demonstration/

This project is supported by Corangamite CMA, through funding from the Australian Government’s Fisheries Habitat Restoration Program.