LAKE Macquarie, a key recreational fishing haven north of Sydney, has recently been stocked with 1000 “advanced size” mulloway.
The mulloway were bred at NSW DPI’s Port Stephens Fisheries Institute marine hatchery and measured 15-20cm on release. These fish are larger than the “fingerlings” typically stocked and are expected to grow very quickly, reaching legal size of 70cm in about 3-4 years. Highly regarded as an iconic sportfish, mulloway are a key sportfishing target in Lake Macquarie and this recent stocking event will boost existing populations of mulloway in the lake.
The Lake Macquarie release builds on the stocking of 80,000 juvenile mulloway into the Georges River/Botany Bay in Sydney’s south and 10,000 fingerlings into the Hastings River, near Port Macquarie on the NSW North Coast earlier in the year.
Last month, a new stock assessment of mulloway reclassified the NSW mulloway stock from “overfished” to “depleted”, with concerns over the species’ ability to replenish itself. NSW DPI says marine stocking is carefully managed to ensure sustainability.
For more information: www.dpi.nsw.gov.au
