Industry & Investment NSW is calling on individuals, councils, schools and community groups interested in increasing native fish populations in the Murray-Darling Basin.
Native Fish Awareness Week is an initiative of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority’s Native Fish Strategy, which estimates that 90 per cent of native fish populations have been lost across the Basin since European settlement.
I&I NSW Conservation Manager, Tony Townsend, said that Native Fish Awareness Week will be held across the Murray-Darling Basin from November 12 to 19 to raise the profile of issues affecting our native fish populations.
“Native Fish Awareness Week is a great opportunity for people or groups interested in protecting our native fish stocks to organise an event in their local community that will help make a difference to the local river health,” Townsend said.
“The theme for this year’s week is ‘Fish need trees’, to encourage riparian rehabilitation around our waterways. Native trees on our riverbanks can provide over 40 per cent of a fish’s diet, act as a natural buffer that stops dirt entering the waterway and smothering fish, and bind banks together to reduce erosion.
A number of state-wide events are being planned as part of the week including the inaugural Quirindi Carp Muster on November 13 and 14, and the Edward-Wakool Native Fish Expo on November 16 in Deniliquin.
To register an event or for more information contact Tony Townsend, Northern NSW NFS Coordinator, on (02) 6763 1440 or email anthony.townsend@industry.nsw.gov.au or Charlie Carruthers, Southern NSW NFS Coordinator, on (02) 6298 0802 or email charlie.carruthers@industry.nsw.gov.au.
