The Native Fish Recovery Plan has a clear aim; to restore native fish populations and waterway health in the Central Murray system in northern Victoria.
Centred on the Gunbower Creek and lower Loddon River, the NFRP provides an opportunity to increase native fish populations, recover threatened species and improve natural values, all integrated with vibrant and productive communities, irrigation and agriculture.
Story: River Health Snapshot a Baseline for Future Plans
The NFRP complements the intent of the Murray Darling Basin Plan - to provide more environmental water to rivers, wetlands and floodplains; and to improve and restore ecosystem health, while maintaining productive irrigation industries.
The philosophy of the NFRP differs from the more traditional approach of returning the ecosystem to as close to natural conditions as possible which is not fully achievable within an irrigation system.
It provides a novel way to achieve ecological outcomes within a highly regulated waterway system by embedding fish restoration flows into irrigation flows - that is using every drop twice, once to assist native fish and again to meet consumptive uses.
The Native Fish Recovery Plan uses the major waterways and wetlands within the Gunbower and lower Loddon River area to develop a strategy that is tailored to the region, with a method that is applicable to irrigation areas basin-wide.
It addresses three key factors responsible for the decline of native fish populations:
All of these impacts can be readily addressed by proven techniques such as fishways, screens on irrigation channels (common overseas and self-cleaning), environmental flows and habitat rehabilitation, such as re-snagging and riparian revegetation.
Importantly, because this is an anabranch system, any additional flow directed through the system for the benefit of fish is returned to the Murray River and therefore available for downstream consumptive uses. Hence, these recovery actions do not depend on large water allocations and can be mostly integrated into existing irrigation water deliveries.
The growth of native fish populations will support increased recreational fishing and eco-tourism with associated benefits to the regional economy.
By implementing the NFRP there is also the potential to develop a world-class trophy fishery for large Murray cod in the Cohuna region.
The Native Fish Recovery Plan project area covers the Gunbower and lower Loddon basins in the North Central CMA region.
The area comprises public and private land that includes Gunbower Forest (a large Ramsar wetland) and most of the Torrumbarry Irrigation Area, a large irrigation area that grows more than $130 million of agricultural produce a year.
The area is supplied by 280 km of streams that are largely managed for water delivery through a system of weirs and channels.
The map indicates the proposed fishway and irrigation screen sites through the Native Fish Stimulus package of works.
The future of native fish in the Gunbower and lower Loddon systems has never been better with the injection of $7.1 million funding from the Victorian Government's 2020 Building Works capital (COVID -19) stimulus package.
The North Central CMA has received the funding to undertake improvements to fish passage within the systems. These improvements, through the Native Fish Stimulus project, will largely see the upgrade or construction of fishways and fish screens allowing the movement and protection of native fish within the systems.
The package of works area a key part of the North Central CMA’s Native Fish Recovery Plan to recover native fish populations and establish a world-class fishery in northern Victoria.
The completed works will also contribute to the region’s recreational and social values as recreational fishing contributes $304 million annually to the regional economy in north western Victoria.
It is estimated that native fish populations have decreased by 90% across the Murray Darling Basin since early European settlement. Many factors have contributed to this decline including lack of connectivity; removal of habitat; altered flows and entrainment into irrigation channels and pumps:
Works are already underway at various sites across the Gunbower and lower Loddon. The works will be timed so there is no impact to the delivery of water for irrigators. The fishways will operate using the existing water allocations, making every drop count twice.
North Central CMA will manage the environmental and cultural heritage approvals for the proposed works. GMW will be responsible for the detailed design and construction of the fishways and fish screen with technical support from the North Central CMA.
Thousands of native fish can now move between the Murray River and the rich habitat of Gunbower Creek due to a funding boost from the sale of water for the environment.
The completed Koondrook fishway provides constant passage to native fish such as the iconic vulnerable Murray cod and threatened golden perch from the river into the creek for the first time in more than a century.
Fish studies have shown that large numbers of native fish accumulate at Koondrook Weir trying to access the creek, but they cannot get past the weir.
Story: Fish on the Move at Koondrook
The fishway will dramatically improve connectivity for fish movement and migration and help boost native fish numbers in the creek.
It also adds significant value to the fantastic wins we are already seeing with environmental flows and native fish recovery – such as Murray cod spawning in the Gunbower Creek and the critical fish food provided by flows through the Gunbower Forest
The fishway was funded with a combination of $4.6M from the Victorian Environmental Water Holder (VEWH) and $1.45M from Victorian Government – Building Works capital stimulus package 2020 – Waterway Environmental Works component and in partnership with Goulburn-Murray Water (GMW) who brought their construction and project management expertise to the project.
Yet another barrier to native fish movement in our region has been removed with the upgrade of the Gunbower Weir fishway on Gunbower Creek.
We contracted Goulburn Murray Water to install a series of baffles in the fishway to make it easier for smaller native fish to reach the rich feeding and breeding grounds of Ghow Swamp.
The project is part of our Native Fish Recovery Plan which aims to remove barriers, recover native fish populations, and establish a world-class native fishery in northern Victoria.
These works help protect populations of golden perch, juvenile Murray cod, native catfish, trout cod, and a whole range of small-bodied native fish.
They give smaller fish access to the same fish superhighway as larger ones.
The $480,000 project was funded with a Victorian Fisheries Authority grant and the Victorian Government's 2020 Building Works capital (COVID -19) stimulus package.
It comes on the back of more than $15.5 million spent in the area since 2020, constructing fishways at the Koondrook, Cohuna, and Taylor’s Creek weirs.
Increasing native fish populations also increases recreational fishing and ecotourism opportunities. Recreation fishing contributes more than $300 million a year to the wider regional economy
Results have found countless numbers of native fish have been saved thanks to Australia’s first irrigation diversion channel screens at Cohuna.
The locally designed and made fish screens were installed iin front of the Cohuna Number 3 Channel regulator in the centre of the town, with funding from the Victorian Environmental Water Holder
Each year, hundreds of thousands of native fish and larvae are lost from the Gunbower Creek and the Murray River system as fish move into irrigation channels.
Once in irrigation channels, the fish are lost to the natural system forever, having a negative impact on breeding and population numbers of native fish, including the Vulnerable Murray cod.
The No. 4 and 5 Channels are immediately upstream of Koondrook Weir.
With the construction of a new Koondrook Fishway it is estimated that
about 20 per cent of migrating golden perch will be entrained into these channels if they are not screened.
A concept has been developed for a self-cleaning fish screen (four conical screens) in front of the channels at this site with the constructions of the fish screens complementing the new fishway.
Goulburn-Murray Water funded the construction of a 23-slot vertical slot fishway at Cohuna Weir during 2021.
Re-built in 2005, the Cohuna Weir on Gunbower Creek was one of the last barriers to upstream fish passage along Gunbower Creek.
The completed fishway allows safe passage for iconic fish species including the golden perch, threatened silver perch and Murray cod upstream and downstream of the existing weirs and importantly access to critical breeding habitat throughout the entire Gunbower Creek.
The fishway was one of the last few remaining locations in the Gunbower and lower Loddon catchment where we are working on connectivity, allowing native fish to move freely through the previously fragmented irrigation system through the North Central CMA’s Native Fish Recovery Plan.
Dehnes Weir is at the outlet of Taylor's Creek into Ghow (Kow) Swamp.
In partnership with Goulburn Murray Water, the developed detailed design of a dual chamber, vertical slot fishway meets the ecological goals of the Native Fish Recovery Plan while responding to a number of site-specific constraints.
The “no dig” design responds to the cultural and archaeological significance of Ghow (Kow) Swamp and feedback from consultation with Yorta Yorta Nation.
The dual chamber design also provides a wide operating range that will provide fish passage now and responds to irrigation delivery scenarios in a drying climate.
We are committed ongoing Traditional Owner engagement, listening and design adaptation to achieve native fish outcomes and respecting cultural heritage.
We're working with partners to secure additional funding to proceed with construction.
Once constructed, together with the completed fishway at Talyor's Weir, it will connect native fish in Ghow (Kow) Swamp to the Murry River via the Gunbower and lower Loddon in an unbroken loop of more than 150 km.
The newly built Taylor's Creek Fishway just north of Ghow (Kow) Swamp in northern Victoria connects 1000 kilometres of waterways for large bodied native fish.
The fishway connects the Murray River, Little Murray and Lower Loddon rivers, Pyramid, Taylors, and Gunbower creeks, and Ghow Swamp.
It is part of the Gunbower and lower Loddon Fish Passage Works project, building eight new fishways and upgrading three to connect 530km of open Murray River to 560km of local waterways.
Over the years, fishways have been built on the Little Murray River, lower Loddon River and Box Creek, and recently two new fishways on Gunbower Creek at Cohuna and Koondrook.
Native Fish Recovery Plan Brochure - fishers
The Native Fish Recovery Plan – irrigators
Tri State Alliance Murray Corridor Fish Connections
Native Fish Recovery Plan Prospectus
The Gunbower and Lower Loddon Native Fish Recovery Plan
The Gunbower and Lower Loddon Native Fish Expression of Interest For
The Gunbower and Lower Loddon Native Fish Recovery Plan Brochure - Fishers
The Gunbower and Lower Loddon Native Fish Recovery Plan - Irrigators
