Tag: fish stocking

42,000 barra released into Lake Kununurra in fish stocking “mission impossible”

Neither biblical floods, nor their trailer rear wheel axle falling off, could stop Broome’s North Regional TAFE aquaculture team making an epic 1,000km/20 hour-long journey to release 42,000 barramundi all around 62 days-old into their new home, Lake Kununurra!

North Regional TAFE Acting Hatchery Manager Milton Williams and his team had been tasked with delivering the latest batch of 100,000 barra they had reared as part of the ongoing Lake Kununurra stocking program that has seen more than 1.3 million fish stocked into the fishery since 2013.

With the cyclonic floods taking out Fitzroy Bridge and with no other river crossing options available initially, the transport delays between Broome and Kununurra meant the fish were fast maxing out at the size they could be viably kept at the hatchery.

“It costs $1,500 a week in oxygen alone to support that many fish at the centre,” said Milton, “it was nearing the point where we just couldn’t afford to keep them anymore – it was not looking good.”

All kinds of options were considered, including chartering a plane and airlifting the fish to Kununurra, but were ruled out for costs and logistical reasons – it was beginning to look a bit like a fish stocking mission impossible.

Happily, a commercial aquaculture venture took 58,000 of the fish off their hands and then the low-level crossing finally opened across the Fitzroy, courtesy of 10,000 tonnes of rock and steel donated by BHP to allow the team to transport the fish up to Kununurra.

Milton and hatchery technician Darcy Dunstan finally set out from the hatchery with the fish in tow in oxygen-fed tanks on the back of their specially adapted trailer and all was going well until the wheels came off…literally.

A spring gave out at the back of the trailer resulting in the rear wheel axle falling off 30km outside of Fitzroy Crossing.

“There’s never a dull moment working in aquaculture. It’s not a career – it’s an adventure!” said Milton.

LISTEN TO MILTON’S ABC KIMBERLEY INTERVIEW HERE DISCUSSING HIS EPIC BARRA STOCKING MISSION!

North Regional TAFE Acting Hatchery Manager Milton Williams (pictured centre) and his team getting ready to release 42,000 barramundi into Lake Kununurra after their wild ride.

The wheels come off!

With just one bar’s coverage on his mobile phone, Milton was able to get hold of Brian from Fitzroy Crossing Automotive Salvage and Towing who came to the stricken trailer’s aid with his tilt truck.

Brian then really, really went the extra distance to drive the tanks of fish the remaining 700km up to Kununurra on his tilt truck tray with Milton and Darcy following in their 4WD behind.

Forced to drive at only 90kmh meant the crew finally landed at Falls Crossing in Kununurra at 9pm, some 19 hours after having set out from Broome. The boat DBCA usually provide to help stock some of the fish in the lake was stood down due to the late hour, leaving all the fish to be released at Falls Crossing.

There was then an anxious two-hour wait as the fish acclimatised before being finally released into their new home.

“There was a mixture of relief, excitement and exhaustion seeing them go in after all the challenges. Being that much older and bigger than usual has actually worked in their favour, making them that bit more robust and less susceptible to predators,” said Milton.

Read more about the stocking program and fantastic fishing in Lake Kununurra here 

With the fish successfully delivered, Milton and Darcy could finally sit back and enjoy a very well-earned beer.

“It was the best tasting beer I’ve ever had!” laughed Milton, “We were pretty exhausted with the whole experience being a bit of a rollercoaster. But we got there in the end, and it feels great to have delivered another 42,000 barra to the Lake, many of which will grow into metre-plus fish enjoyed by local fishers and visitors the lake alike.”

Recfishwest CEO Dr Andrew Rowland said, “Huge credit to Milton, Darcy and the North Regional TAFE aquaculture centre crew. They’ve gone above and beyond to make sure these valuable fish got delivered to the lake.

“Well-managed fishing stocking programs like this create fantastic fishing opportunities for regional communities and all the social, economic and tourism benefits that go with it.

“The fishing is always better when the fish are biting – and having the chance to fish for the iconic barramundi in a safe, accessible setting that Lake Kununurra provides – is of huge value to the local community and visitors to the Kimberley.”

Flashback: Fishing in Barradise – The 2022 Apex Kununurra Barra Bash

With another 42,000 barramundi stocked into the picturesque Lake Kununurra, a large majority of them will make it to this kind of size landed by Luke Koyts!

Bumper Snapper Guardians 2023 kicks off ‘super-stocking’ week

What an awesome turn-out for Snapper Guardians 2023 – with the biggest crowd in the event’s history coming down to help us release juvenile pink snapper into Cockburn Sound!  

What’s more it kicked off a ‘super-stocking’ week which has seen 40,000 juvenile pink snapper and 15,000 yellowtail king fish released into metro waters in less than seven days!  

With COVID unfortunately disrupting the community attendance at the event in 2021 and 2022, Recfishwest was delighted to see hundreds of fishing families turn up to roll up their sleeves and help release 5,000 juvenile pinkies to show how much they value this iconic species, the Sound and the fantastic fishing experiences it supports on Perth’s doorstep.  

A big Recfishwest thanks to the 400+ attendees that helped us release 5,000 juvenile pink snapper into Cockburn Sound for Snapper Guardians 2023!

CHECK OUT OUR LIVE FACEBOOK FEED FROM THIS YEAR’S SNAPPER GUARDIANS

This was followed by another 35,000 pink snapper released between Fremantle Sailing Club and the Cockburn Power Boats Club earlier this week, while 15,000 yellowtail kingfish were also released on Wedneday between the same locations to spice up future fishing experiences in metro waters.  

“The fantastic response we had to Snapper Guardians 2023 shows the community’s care and passion for Cockburn Sound and the fantastic, safe, accessible fishery it supports is stronger than ever before,” said CEO Dr Andrew Rowland. “A big shout out to everyone who came down from the community to support this year’s event.” 

“Fishing is always better when the fish are biting and we don’t just want to see sustainable fisheries – we want abundant ones. That’s why it’s great to see the Government’s commitment to fish stocking initiatives like the pink snapper and yellowtail kingfish programs. 

Check out the behind-the-scenes footage from the DPIRD Fremantle hatchery and the kingie cannon firing new yellowtail kingfish into their new home on the YouTube link below! 

“We want to see more of this in the future and a well-developed scientific monitoring program that can give us a better understanding of the effectiveness and potential scalability of these popular iniativies,” added Andrew.  

A big Recfishwest shout out also to the team from DPIRD’s Fremantle hatchery, who collected the pink snapper eggs in early November of 2022, hatched and reared the pinkies in their aquaculture tanks through the most vulnerable stage of their lives, before transporting the 90-day-old fish down to Jervoise Bay, Woodman Point for release into their new home.  

The team at DPIRD’s Fremantle hatchery collected the pink snapper eggs back in November of 2022, hatched and reared them until they reached 90-days-of-age and transported 5,000 down to Cockburn Sound for release during Snapper Guardians!

We would also like to thank our community fish stocking partners Daiwa, for helping us make this event possible.  

Rest assured, with the State Government promising more funding and support for future stocking events such as Snapper Guardians, we will ensure this great event continues for many years to come and becomes even bigger and better.  

Were you one of the Snapper Guardians who rolled up your sleeves over the weekend? Check out some of the action and big smiles from our latest event below and thank you to all attendees who put on the bathers and snorkels to help make the 2023 Snapper Guardians event one for the ages.  

Inaugural Pemberton Trout festival makes big stocking splash with locals

With stunning weather and a spectacular forest backdrop, the inaugural edition of the Pemberton Trout Festival proved to be a great hit with the sizeable crowd that turned out for this new fish stocking event. 

Around 400 people made the picturesque journey to Big Brook Dam, just outside of Pemberton, to line up and hand-release hundreds of rainbow and brown trout into the crystal-clear waters of this fantastic South-West freshwater fishery.  

To top it off, every trout making a splash was at least yearling size, with dozens of parents and kids able to experience the thrill of holding the larger ex-broodstock specimens, some over 50cm in length, before gently caressing them into the water and watching them kick away to freedom.  

With a greater number of the larger fish being released, it means a higher survival rate and a better workout for anglers and their rods when these bigger trout grab lures, flies and baits.  

The stocking event proudly celebrated 50 years of Fisheries Department (DPIRD) management of the Pemberton Hatchery, which underpins WA’s ever popular South-West trout fishery.  

Along with Recfishwest, this new event was initiated and supported by local fishing clubs including the Australian Trout Foundation (ATF), Southern Forests Freshwater Angling Club (SFFAC) and Western Australian Trout and Freshwater Angling Association (WATFAA).  

The festival would also not have been possible without the tremendous support from DPIRD, the Pemberton Freshwater Research Centre, Daiwa, Healthway, Pemberton Visitor Centre, Shire of Manjimup and the Australian Trout Foundation Inc.  

There were plenty of larger ex-broodstock trout up for grabs for attendees to help hand-release at the festival! Here’s Recfishwest Communications Coordinator Jarrad Lawford helping a young tacker release a beautiful brown.

“It was a great sight to see dozens of families and kids getting hands on in releasing these fantastic fish. There couldn’t have been a more fitting way to celebrate the history of the hatchery and the fishery here in Pemberton – the ‘spiritual home’ of WA freshwater fishing,” said Recfishwest CEO Dr Andrew Rowland.  

“The Pemberton-based trout hatchery run by DPIRD supports a fantastic program that brings thousands of anglers to chase these fish through South-West freshwater dams, rivers and streams. These anglers in turn inject more than $20 million annually into the regional economy and we believe there is huge potential to grow the fishery even further along with the social and economic benefits it brings to the region.”  

Every year, trout are released into various popular freshwater fishing dams and rivers such as Drakesbrook Weir, Harvey Dam, Waroona Dam, the Collie River and the Brunswick. 

With such a big turn-out for the successful event, it is hoped more fish stocking events like this can be run in the area in the future – watch this space! 

Recfishwest will continue to work closely with Government in creating more places for people to fish for freshwater species in safe, accessible and family-oriented fishing locations.  

Recfishwest’s Freshwater Fisheries Reference Group will continue to provide advice to DPIRD on where to distribute each year’s trout stocks bred at the hatchery.  

A big Recfishwest thanks to all our supporters who made this event possible, along with all attendees young and old who took part and helped release the fish quickly and in good condition.  

A unique experience in a picturesque place, hopefully the Pemberton Trout Festival will become an annual event!

Another 300,000 barra released into Lake Kununurra!

This week another 150,000 barramundi fingerlings – which are about 60 days old – were successfully released into Lake Kununurra, with another 150,000 barra set to be released next week.

These two releases will raise the total number of barramundi released into Lake Kununurra over the past eight years to 1.3 million fish.

Lake Kununurra is an East Kimberley fishing gem and a quality sport fishery, providing fishers the chance to chase big barramundi.

WATCH: See how the experts fish for barra on Lake Kununurra

A safe location free of saltwater crocodiles and big tidal movements typical of Kimberley river systems, Lake Kununurra is home to many 1m-plus barra thanks to an ongoing stocking program.

The Lake Kununurra stocking program was initiated in 2013 using recreational fishing licence fees as part of the Recreational Fishing Initiatives Fund.

It is overseen by the Lake Kununurra Barramundi Stocking Group (LKBSG), Recfishwest, North Regional TAFE and the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPRID).

“Lake Kununurra’s barramundi stocking program shows how true fish abundance not only promotes great fishing experiences, but also benefits regional WA communities,” Recfishwest CEO Dr  Andrew Rowland said.

“Fish abundance ensures great fishing experiences can be enjoyed and stocking programs like this one can help create world-class fisheries in regional towns, such as Kununurra.

“Lake Kununurra is not only an asset to locals, but also attracts visitors to the East Kimberley who want to try their luck and chase a magic metre barra in a safe and accessible setting.”

How good! More than 1.3 million barra have been released into the lake since 2013.

All of the fish released as part of the program have been bred at North Regional TAFE’s aquaculture facility in Broome.

The TAFE’s aquaculture experts transport the fish across from Broome to Kununurra in special oxygenated transportation tanks.

The State Government has committed to fund the stocking program over the next three years through the COVID-19 recfishing recovery package, announced in 2020.

See how the barra are hatched and reared at North Regional TAFE before being released into this short YouTube video.

Thanks also to Fisheries WA for their support of the program and Daiwa Australia our Statewide stocking partners who make fish release activities like this possible.

It was all hands on deck to help get the latest batch of barra into Lake Kununurra.