BASS Sydney has taken out the Habitat Heroes award at the recent National Recreational Fishing Conference held on the Gold Coast.
Bass Sydney has been working tirelessly over past years to improve native fish habitat and was up against some tough competition to take out the award. The group’s Russell St regeneration work was reportedly carried out without Government help, apart from minimal grant funding.
Bass Sydney’s initial efforts focused on improving fish passage and the group was instrumental in successfully doing so at Liverpool and Lane Cove weirs. The group’s volunteers also recognised that there was work to be done replanting riparian areas that provide so much of the bass summer diet. While the benefits of this work may not be immediate, the huge effort involved made the members of Bass Sydney worthy of the title “Habitat Heroes”.
Other anglers nominated for their habitat work included:
Australian Trout Foundation
The Australian Trout Foundation has been restoring habitat for the barred galaxius destroyed in the Victorian Black Saturday bushfires.
Callandoon (Bruce Parncutt, Brian Buckland)
This project focussed on rehabilitation of the entire stretch of King Parrot creek through Callandoon is providing benefits for Macquarie perch.
Condamine Alliance
The work the Condamine Alliance and their partners have been doing along a 110 km of Myall Creek, Oakey Creek and the Condamine River has seen a return of Hyrtl’s tandan for the first time in 15 years and a 1000 per cent increase in the golden perch population.
Fishcare South-west
The rehabilitation of a site on the Hopkins River estuary has been a focus for the group and their partners, reversing a history of poor maintenance.
Mallee Catchment Management Authority
By installing an environmental regulator on the inlet to Margooya Lagoon, off the Murray River, the Mallee CMA enabled drying of the Lagoon for the first time in 72 years. When the Lagoon refilled juvenile fish, and large numbers of carp gudgeon were found to be taking advantage of the nursery habitat now available in the Lagoon.
Strath Creek Landcare Group and Flowerdale Landcare Group
The Macquarie perch population found in King Parrot Creek, a tributary of the Goulburn River, came under threat after the Black Saturday bushfires. These two groups have been restoring riparian vegetation at several sites and spreading the message locally, including with students from one of the local schools.
