Great-tasting and awesome to catch — it’s safe to say marron are a South West icon and favourite species among many WA fishers.
That’s why Recfishwest was pleased to be involved in kicking-off an important stocking program at the weekend, which will see 300,000 marron released into South West freshwater waterways over the next three years.
Recfishwest joined Jordan Parker and Scott Bell from Solair Group to release 2,300 marron into Logue Brook Dam, near Harvey.
“That felt like a lot of marron, but it’s less than one per cent of what’s going to be stocked in the next three years,” Recfishwest CEO Dr Andrew Rowland said.
WATCH: How’s this fantastic footage from the weekend’s marron release!?
Backed by the Recreational Fishing Initiatives Fund (RFIF) and announced by Premier Mark McGowan, Dr Rowland said it was great to get the pointy end of this marron stocking project underway with the first of the one-year-old marron going in the water.
“These marron have been bred at Solair Group’s Capel-based hatchery and were nurtured through the vulnerable stages of their life to maximise post-release survival,” he said.
“So, when will you be able to catch these marron? They will be legal size by next marron season.”
Safeguarding against changing environment
An important part of this three-year program will involve scientific monitoring to determine its effectiveness with the objective of future-proofing this fishery from environmental change.
Marron are endemic to WA’s South West and provide terrific fishing experiences for the 10,000 fishers who hold marron fishing licences.
However, Dr Rowland said declining annual rainfall and reduced stream flows are placing marron populations under pressure.
“South West dams such as Harvey, Glen Mervyn, Waroona and Logue Brook will play an increasingly important role in supporting good marron catches,” he said.
“While we can’t change the weather, we can support healthy population abundances through programs like this, in turn making fishing better.”
Making fishing better
Most importantly, Dr Rowland said the stocking program was designed to enhance the fishery and was exactly the sort of initiative Recfishwest want to see fishing licence money spent on.
“We want to ensure fishers will continue to be able to explore the South West and continue to catch marron for many, many more years to come,” he said.
“The weekend’s marron release was a great start and a major step towards Recfishwest’s vision of expanding the current month-long season towards year-round marron fishing.”
