NT barra numbers still strong

IT’S no secret that barramundi abundance in river catchments is heavily influenced by the amount of rain from the present and previous wet seasons.

Corey Dysart with a 101cm chrome barra caught on a Classic F18 in the NT

IT’S no secret that barramundi abundance in river catchments is heavily influenced by the amount of rain from the present and previous wet seasons.

Good wet seasons flush land-locked billabongs and inundate flood plain habitat, providing increased food to juvenile and larger barramundi, which enhances their growth and survival.

But what has happened to the 70cm and 80cm size class of fish?

To put it simply, during the 2013-14 wet seasons the major rivers were not in flood long enough to generate the ­conditions required for barramundi to flourish.

Why this size class suffered the most is not completely understood. But it is likely a combination of these fish becoming trapped in billabongs where many may have died of natural causes due to low oxygen ­levels, lack of available food and competition and predation by larger barramundi and other predators.

Fortunately, despite the relatively poor previous wet seasons, there are still good numbers of large 90cm-plus barramundi around and very high numbers of 50-60cm fish from juveniles spawned three years ago.

For all of these reasons, ­barramundi populations in the NT are still considered exceptionally healthy and highly sustainable.

Fingers crossed we have a cracker Wet this year.