Could any PRFMA members on the boards tonight please check your email asap and stop pouring drinks now.
Report to follow tomorrow.
Could any PRFMA members on the boards tonight please check your email asap and stop pouring drinks now.
Report to follow tomorrow.
SIL went below the wall this afternoon catching bass yellowbelly and lungfish by hand. Released all fish back into deeper waters below the dam.
Jack.
Just a teaser, I sure Shayne will have more. Not a greeny conservation group in sight, just the stocking group. Well done PRFMA & Rangers
I think it could be on 7 news tonight.
29 members and 2 Seqwater rangers accessed the area below North Pine dam this morning and effected an organised salvage operation of the fish which made it through the spill way gates over the last 2 days.
The main target was the iconic Lungfish but any other natives which could be saved were also taken back to the main dam basin.
Unfortunately not all fish are as tough as Lungfish so the majority of the dead fish removed were bass, silvers, yellowbelly, of course there were also some dead Tilapia but thats a good thing. No toga or cod showed up.
Possibly because the spillway gates were only opened slightly, we didn't see the same volume of fish as 99/2000.
In the end 103 Lungies were rescued and all swam off ok eventually, mind you one was still doubtful. Because we were able to co-ordinate effectively with Seqwater and DPI&F we were able to access quick enough to save almost all the lungfish with only a small number not making it to swim again.
All in all a good days work and the members from PRFMA worked hard and achieved a good result. Fisheries dropped in and checked us out during the day(funnily enough the 10 or so people fishing at Bullockies disappeared while we were talking) and we had the guys from DPI Fresh Water checking in via phone during the process.
Sorry no photos from me, as I was too busy burping Lungies.
That's a great effort.
Shame about the bass, silvers & goldens.
Conservation groups would not be interested as the dam is not a 'natural' environment. Also could'nt let themselves know about the endangered lungfish being alive and doing well in a dam. HMMMM I'm being cynical - I think!!!
Luc
Unfortunately Luc, there is no conclusive proof that the Lungfish are recruiting in Lake Samsonvale. They certainly do on occasion deposit eggs but do they survive to adulthood? Who knows?
Until it gets sorted out one way or the other, it makes saving everyone of them even more important. Besides they are pretty cool creatures.
Great work Shane. Congratulations to you and your members. Let me know if you need another pair of hands for another session.
Cheers Freeeedom
I realise it doesn't prove anything Shayne but there were quite a few Lungies this size rescued today and the river was dammed 33 years ago. The "greeny experts" say they can't breed in a dam, and then after a dam is built they say Lungies can't breed if we stock the dam with fish. Maybe some breed well upstream and move into the dam later but then again those lungfish eating bass and yellows travel well upstream too, who knows? One thing I do know was you were flat out finding many Lungies in Kobble creek and the Nth Pine when I was a kid.Originally Posted by shayned
Why not join the PRFMA we do a hell of a lot more than just occasionally rescue fish. Have a look at the website. Best $20 you will ever spend.
Cheers
Ray
I must say I agree with you Mike.
I refuse to accept damming a waterway means the end for lungfish. If they don't breed in the dam itself, then they got up the feeder creeks & rivers and breed there.
Given the large size variations in the NPD population, if they don't breed you would have to accept that:
1 - the initial stocking number was very substancial and
2 - as a species, they shows a very wide range of growth rates.
Personally the breeding scenario is more beleivable.
Maybe we should start a tagging programme to check growth rates, dispersement and recruiting? I'll put out some feelers about it.
Luc
At certain times of the year usualy when the westerlies are blowing and you have to hug the shore on your way home from fishing down near the far boundary you can see the lungfish mating in 15ft deep water, it is a sight to see. There are dozens of them all going through the same thing at the same time, the water is gin clear. What happens after that I dont know as you dont see many small ones around, the small ones the other morning are the first I have seen out there.
Hey Shane,
Any idea of the approx number of Bass and other natives lost over the wall?
Great work by the PRFMA in saving the lungies.
Cheers
CT
Thanks for the photo Mike, can you send me the original so I can pass it on. As you know all the members were asked to look for sub 55cm fish while collecting. Unfortunately I didn't see this one, I hope a measure went on to it.I realise it doesn't prove anything Shayne but there were quite a few Lungies this size rescued today and the river was dammed 33 years ago. The "greeny experts" say they can't breed in a dam, and then after a dam is built they say Lungies can't breed if we stock the dam with fish. Maybe some breed well upstream and move into the dam later but then again those lungfish eating bass and yellows travel well upstream too, who knows? One thing I do know was you were flat out finding many Lungies in Kobble creek and the Nth Pine when I was a kid.
I don't want to start a debate on Lungies, personally I hope like hell they are recruiting in Lake Samsonvale because they certainly are breeding.
No way to know for sure, we returned another 130 natives approx to the dam and collected a lot of dead bass and yellows but no count was made. I imagine quite a few survived into the main river. A bass was reported caught in a cast net at woody point, I trust the report by the way.
The stocking occurred in 1897, over a century ago and well before the dam was built. Growth rate is slow, it takes 2 years for them to reach 12cm. I believe the lake is still being monitored for recruitment.
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