A PROJECT to reestablish populations of threatened Macquarie perch in the NSW Central West is under threat from recent Forestry Corporation logging.
The project, which was funded through NSW fishing licence fee, has cost licence holders more than $150,000 and has been running for several years at Winburndale in the state’s Central West.
The Winburndale project aims to bring Macquarie perch back to their namesake river after many years of local extinction. NSW DPI released 7,500 juvenile Macquarie perch back into the Macquarie River catchment at Winburndale Dam in March 2021.
Fishing World sources suggest recent logging conducted by Forestry Corporation of NSW has put the project and stocks of Macquarie perch under threat.
The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) told Fishing World it is aware of Forestry Corporation of NSW’s (FCNSW) scheduled plantation harvesting activities adjacent to Winburndale Rivulet.
DPIRD contacted FCNSW and has been assured that the required mitigations have been put in place to prevent negative impacts on the aquatic habitat as a result of the activity.
Forestry Corporation of NSW code requires forestry operations to avoid riparian exclusion zones adjacent to waterways. However, Forestry Corporation of NSW told Fishing World this didn’t apply as the plantation at this location was more than 50 years old.
“It had been established prior to the current regulations, which meant that some trees had been planted close to waterways,” said a Forestry Corporation spokesperson.
“The regulations allow one-off harvesting to remove plantation trees planted historically.”
Forestry Corporation said it is aware of DPIRD’s project to reintroduce Macquarie perch into Winburndale Rivulet and engaged with them ahead of its operations.
In a related incident, fishers and local fossickers along the same State Forest creek witnessed aerial spraying of pesticides nearby, adding further threats to stocked fish and the ongoing restoration project.
Fishing World contacted Forestry Corporation and NSW DPIRD about the use of pesticides and didn’t receive a response.
