Got the following from Steve Samuels.

Dear  Supporters

As many of you know I am a member of the Recreational Fishing NSW Advisory Council (RFNSW), the aim of which is to advise the Minister on matters relating to fishing in NSW.  At the March 2017 meeting, I proposed that a NSW Trout Strategy be devised and implemented to address the declining trout fisheries across NSW.  I am pleased to announce that the Minister has agreed to this and that NSW Fisheries will now be sitting down with anglers to devise and implement a strategy that addresses the declining trout fisheries in NSW.

The most important item on the agenda will be dealing with redfin perch.  As most of you know, many of our once great trout fisheries have declined to nothing once redfin got into the system.  Sadly, there does not seem the possibility of developing a biological control for redfin.  Where carp are distinctly different to any of our native fish, redfin are quite closely related to our perch in evolutionary terms.  This means that any disease control for redfin will likely impact our native species.

But all is not lost.  We have looked closely at the Victorian model of stocking larger trout in redfin areas and they have had a measure of success.

It is important to remember that we will be focussing on all of our trout fisheries and not just the redfin infected ones.

I Have included my paper first paper on the issue that I submitted to the 2015 Trout Allocation Committee.  Now that I am on the RFNSW I have been able to push the issue and we now have a result that is heading in the right direction.  I hope this paper informs you. 

As the strategy unfolds I will endeavour to keep you all informed, but in the mean-time if you have any ideas that I can take forward to build a good trout strategy I would be happy to receive them and put them forward during discussions.

Good fishing to you all and let’s hope for a brighter trout fishing future.

Steve Samuels

President

Monaro Acclimatisation Society Inc

 trout_stocking_samuels

A Victorian angler who Ian, Lyall and I met on a secret river in NZ has pointed me to this link.  http://www.waterwaysguide.org.au/river-levels.  It looks more oriented to kayakers (especially with its judgement on whether to visit) and doesn’t have many of our favourite trout streams, but I thought a useful resource and I’ve added it to our useful link page.

Claude found this interesting research paper undertaken by Curtin University’s Centre of Excellence for Science, Seafood and Health.  The key findings were summarised as:

considerable health and well-being benefits can be gained through involvement in recreational fishing. Encouraging young children, youth, adults and families to fish offers a cost effective and healthful outdoor recreational activity that can be enjoyed throughout life. Benefits were evident for individuals and groups. Recreational fishing was also noted to provide significant benefits to children and youth with behavioural and mental health issues. Finally, educational strategies that focus on how to minimise the environmental impacts of recreational fishing can ensure today’s and tomorrow’s recreational fishers are aware of sustainable fishing practices.

The original piece is available at the university’s website, specifically here.

The latest brochure is up on the Government website, available by clicking here. Mention is made of the issue of white spot disease of prawns so clearly it has been recently updated.

I’d not seen this before but one sentence puts paid to that urban myth of having to kill carp and redfin “You can keep them or return them to the water where they were caught.”

The latest news appeared on the DPI’s Facebook page. This has declared the foreshadowed vehicular access closure is now implemented.

(Note the closure is for the entire year and mechanisms are in place to enforce this. An earlier post on this blog was incorrect and the matter has been clarified with the DPI.)

Access via vehicle for those with legitimate mobility constraints are being catered for throughout the full stream season but with special permit and rules during the high demand period of April through to closing. Go to https://goo.gl/OgjF5b for details on how to access these arrangements.

The rest of us can walk down the hill or use a bike from the Denison camping ground.

(Well done Nathan for picking this up and posting on our Facebook)

The following thoughtful message was received from Steve Samuels (Pres) in the context of the recent news about “Snowy Hydro 2.0”.  CAA Blogmaster response to Steve is below Steve’s words.

Dear Supporters

As you are aware the Federal Government is examining the prospect of implementing a “pumped hydro” project for the Snowy Scheme.  As you will be aware the pumped concept is to pump water back to a holding reservoir once used so it can be used again.  We should all welcome “green” solutions to our power issues, but there may well be some unintended consequences we need to be aware of.

While there is no definitive plan yet it seems that the most likely will be to pump water from Talbingo Dam to another dam such as Tantangara or Eucumbene.  Most of you will be aware that Talbingo Dam has redfin perch in it.  Redfin perch have been responsible for the decline of many trout lakes across NSW and are carriers of Epizootic Haematopoietic Necrosis Virus (EHNV) which has a significant impact on rainbow trout and Macquarie perch.

The Monaro Acclimatisation Society is concerned that if water is pumped from Khancoban or Talbingo to any other dam there is the possibility that redfin will get a free ride into that lake.  The problem is compounded if the destination dam is either Tantangara or Eucumbene because Tantangara feeds directly into Eucumbene via the Providence Portal and from there Eucumbene can service every other dam in the system.  A redfin explosion across the whole of the Snowy Scheme is a distinct possibility if not managed appropriately.

The MAS is currently making contact with politicians and Snowy Hydro representatives to make our concern known.  I doubt that anglers alone can stop this project from going ahead as there is a lot a stake politically.  However, with a budget of between $2 and $4 billion the MAS believes that it is not unreasonable to ask that the world’s best filter technology be installed to prevent redfin or their eggs being circulated around the system.

As this issue progresses the MAS will keep you informed, but you may like to take this opportunity to discuss the matter with fellow anglers and businesses that rely on trout fishing.  The only outcome of redfin infection in our trout dams will be the demise of the trout and this will have a serious impact on our recreation and the businesses that rely on it.

Steve Samuels

President

Monaro Acclimatisation Society Inc

21 March 2017

My response to Steve was:

Thanks for this. A couple of points:

• I cringe when people describe this idea as “green”. The thing is only another form of battery. It will only be green if the water is pumped using green power ie from excess solar or wind. But if from fossil fuel (or even ‘renewable’ wood fired) sources it ain’t green.
• I had been concerned about possible bio threats from taking water from ine catchment and putting it into another but the idea of fish translocation hadn’t occurred to me. Bugger
• I’d be uncertain whether requisitely fine filters could be fitted into a system that has to move that amount of water. Perhaps you should refer to “filters or other reliable mechanism”

This’ll be on CAA blog in a jiffy and our newsletter tonight.  Thanks for taking this up. I presume you’ll take this to Niall Blair and remind him that redfin fishing will not attract the same economic benefits to the region that trout fishing does.

Cheers

Bill

Some news from Steve Samuels (Pres) on the control of vehicle access to the Eucumbene River near Denison.

To all our supporters

As you will be aware, anglers have been concerned about the environmental damage being caused to the Eucumbene River and its surrounds during the annual spawning run.  Nearly all of this damage has been caused by the large number of vehicles that descend onto the river banks during wet times.  As a result of concerns for the environment by anglers the Monaro Acclimatisation Society (MAS) seized the initiative and convened a meeting of stakeholders to discuss the matter on 30 March 2016.  That meeting was attended by NSW Fisheries, Snowy Hydro, National Parks, NSW Maritime, Chamber of Commerce representatives and anglers.  The meeting was chaired by the President of the MAS.

At the conclusion of the meeting it was agreed that some action had to be taken to stop the damage.  A working group consisting of NSW Fisheries, Snowy Hydro and National Parks representatives was established to examine the options available, identify a solution and implement that solution.

I am happy to report that after a year of hard work the preferred solution of limiting vehicle access at the Denison Campground by creating a car park there is now about to be implemented.  Snowy Hydro has agreed to pay for half of the project and on Monday 20 March 2017, the NSW Fisheries Minister announced that the other half of the funding will be made available through the Recreational Freshwater Fishing Trust Fund.

Anglers can expect to see work begin quite quickly and it is anticipated that it will be complete before the spawning run begins, subject to some favourable weather.

The Working Group is now finalising the administrative arrangements for the new access regime and I expect that anglers will be advised soon on how this will operate and what special arrangements have been made for disabled anglers.

I will take this opportunity to remind you that this was a project driven by anglers and coordinated by the MAS which will protect the spawning run for years to come.

While many of us will often criticise Snowy Hydro it has been a pleasure to deal with them over this issue and I especially acknowledge their willingness to work with anglers and provide material support for the project.

Steve Samuels

President

Monaro Acclimatisation Society Inc

21 march 2017

Steve Samuels (local angler and our Vice President on NSW Council of Freshwater Anglers) was appointed earlier this year to the Recreational Fishing NSW Advisory Council. This body has a role to represent anglers and to make recommendations to the Minister on the management of our fisheries. He has disseminated to CAA the minutes of the first two meetings. DPI also have them on their website.
Suffice to say that these early meetings have focused on establishing practices. More meaty subjects will be addressed in the future I’m sure and Steve will no doubt accept suggestions for topics.
Steve encourages everyone to continue to read these minutes. They will contain a lot of information on how our fisheries are managed and how the council are advising Fisheries and the Minister how to protect and enhance our sport.

ACT has changed the rules to bring them in line with NSW and Vic on respect to the Murrumbidgee. Click here for the announcement.

I found this was a little confusing in respect to local lakes so headed off to the rules. Which say:

Murray cod: closed season September to November. Legal size between 55cm and 75cm. Bag limit one within the open waters of the Murrumbidgee River, two in all other open waters.

​On Monday 28 November 2016, Steve Samuels attended the inaugural NSW Maritime Alpine Boating Advisory Group (ABAG).

Steve had been asked by various folk around here to pursue the following:

• Better marking of dangers and hazards on lakes
• Development of E-maps for lakes
• Boat ramps

There has been some progress. Interested parties can obtain Steve’s notes by emailing the CAA contact via our homepage.