Recreational fishing branded a threat to Murray River cod

Anglers fume after fishing branded a threat to Murray cod

Words: Peter Hunt Producer: Simone Kealy

Researchers have angered recreational fishers by claiming their pastime in the Murray River is as damaging to Murray cod and Golden Perch as the carp invasion.

Victoria’s Mid-Murray fish recovery plan, by the Arthur Rylah Institute , ranks threats to the iconic cod and perch species on a scale out of five — with five the worst.

When it comes to Murray cod the report gives recreational fishing a threat score of three — equal to that of invasive species, reduced flooding and river flows and cold water pollution.

The threat scoring has incensed the recreational angling community, whose clubs volunteer thousands of hours each year to riverside revegetation work, restocking and advising authorities to help maintain healthy native fish stocks and habitat.

“Recreational fishers are putting back, through stocking, which is funded by rec fishers to putting habitat back in place,” Mr Scullin said. Ben Scullin, who leads the Peak recreational angler lobby VRFish, said the scoring was “one of the dumbest things I’ve ever seen”.

Recreational fishing licence fees fund revegetation along the state's waterways, plus native fish restocking'. The Victorian Fisheries Authority database shows 17.4 million Murray cod and 26.4 million Golden Perch , plus two million other native species had been released into the state’s waterways since 2000.

In its submission to the plan VRFish chairman Rob Loats rejected the inclusion of recreational fishing as a threat, stating: “To suggest [this] is insulting."

In defending the report a Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning spokesman said: “Murray cod and Golden Perch are especially vulnerable to overfishing, particularly in isolated waterholes or during droughts”.

But Goulburn Valley Association of Fishing Clubs chairman Roland Huber, said he was “ absolutely fuming ” about the claims made in the report.

He said it would be simple for councils and Parks Victoria to excavate more fish passages through causeways on the Tullah Creek through the Barmah Forest and other Murray River tributaries to boost breeding.“But Parks Victoria tells me they have no money, ” he said.