THE largest of up to 17,000 Murray cod and golden perch will be taken from Lake Mokoan to the Goulburn River in a two-week exercise set for the end of the month.

Final approval for the project is being sought from Fisheries Victoria and a technical evaluation panel assessment, Tony Long, manager of water and biodiversity for DSE North East, said.

He said the project is part of a two-year fish management plan developed for Lake Mokoan.

He said the relocation of the fish was based on critically low water levels predicted for Lake Mokoan and not linked to any government decision about the site’s future.

The plan has involved consultation with VRFish, the peak body for Victorian recreational anglers.

Mr Long said the aim was to minimise the likelihood and extent of any large scale death of fish in the lake.

Lake Mokoan was stocked with Murray cod and golden perch from 1990 to 2003.

While there is no evidence the fish have been breeding, a 2002 fish stock assessment has determined there may be more than 6000 of the original 142,000 Murray cod released in the lake, and more than 11,000 of the original 234,000 golden perch remaining.

Mr Long said the removal would target the larger Murray cod and golden perch with a specialist contractor using different netting to catch the fish before transfer.

“Obviously we will pick up some carp but they will be disposed of or used by the contractor,” he said.

Mr Long said a succession of dry years had led to concerns that water levels would be critically low, in terms of fish survival, over the summer.

The low levels had forced a re-examination of initial plans to delay the relocation until next year.

“We would need consistent rain and the catchment to begin flowing again for these plans to change,” he said.

“The majority of the loss of water in this system this year will be through evaporation and such a large amount of evaporation will cause extremely low water levels.”

Low catchment levels throughout the North East have also forced the department to reconsider the final home for the relocated fish.

“If there had been plenty of water we would have spread them out but the flows in the Goulburn at this particular time continue to provide the best option for good quality water throughout the summer period,” he said.

Mr Long said DSE was working with Fisheries Victoria and Goulburn Murray Water to give the fish the maximum opportunity for survival.

He said expert advice had also been sought from government agencies, fishing organisations and contractors on fish capture, transportation and potential release sites.

The contractor will work with Fisheries Victoria staff over the two weeks, using a fish transport vehicle.

Source : The Border Mail