AS Fisho reported in this article in January, the humble English perch is proving a headache for Snowy 2.0 hydro scheme scientists because the class one NSW pest fish survives in Talbingo Reservoir, while it has only ever been seen infrequently in Tantangara Dam.
The Snowy 2.0 scheme plans to link the two reservoirs via a 27 km tunnel that includes a massive underground electricity generation plant and it may be possible for redfin or their eggs to pass through the large turbines when water is pumped back up from Talbingo to Tantangara…and into one of the state’s top trout fishing lakes. Redfin being a voracious predator, this would be bad news for the self-sustaing trout fishery.
Now the issue has made national news, with the story making it into The Australian newspaper. According to the article, the $4.5 billion dollar project is one of Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull’s pet projects, but may now be blocked because of the redfin threat.
You can read the full story HERE.
