Australian Trout Foundation ATF Online
Fish Stocking

Salmonid Stocking
 

Victoria
The Australian Trout Foundation has a permanent seat at the Vic Fish Stock regional consultative meetings and welcomes input / feedback from our members.

We have set up a special sub-committee to assist in writing up stocking submissions to give them the best opportunity for success. The ATF has assisted / supported numerous stocking submissions from clubs and individuals in recent times. 
 

Should you or your club wish to submit a proposal for stocking trout into Victorian waters, please send an outline of your initial proposal to the secretary and it will be forwrded to the sub-committee for review (All submissions must be in writing and addressed to the "Stocking Sub-Committee"). A copy of recent FishStock meeting's outcomes can be found here and a check list of information that you should supply with your submission is included in Appendix 2 on page 42.

Vic Fish Stock is responsible for the stocking of salmonids and native species into rivers and impoundments across the state. Fish stocking in Victoria is managed over 5 regions - North East, Gippsland, North West, South West & Port Phillip. 

 

The meetings involve invited representatives from Fisheries Victoria, the Victorian Recreational Fishing representative body (VRFish), the Australian Trout Foundation, Native Fish Australia, Water Management agencies, Catchment Management Authorities (CMAs), Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE), and angling association representatives.

 

The 5 regional meetings are held each year (usually around the first week or two in August) to reveiw current stocking levels, discuss new proposals, and try to identify oportunities to enhance our fisheries.
 

For a particular water to be stocked the following conditions should be satisfied:

  • sufficient acceptable habitat conditions exist year-round for the growth and survival of the stocked fish;
  • self-sustaining populations are insufficient to support a fishery;
  • the proposed waters offer reasonable access to anglers;
  • sufficient demand for stocking in a particular water is evident through the Department's annual regional consultation process; and
  • there is no reasonable evidence the released fish may constitute an unacceptable risk to a threatened species or community (eg. listed under Victoria's Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988, or the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999)

    When a water is stocked with trout, the number of fish released is proportional to both the size of the water and the angling pressure exerted on that water. If too many fish are stocked into a water body, the growth potential and condition of fish may deteriorate.
     

Generally, fish stocked into Victorian waters are bred at Snob's Creek Hatchery near Eildon, but occasionally Fisheries Victoria may procure fish from private hatcheries to bolster supply if required.
Over the past 5 - 6 years, Vic Fish Stock set a target to stock approx. 650,000 salmonids (a mix of fry, fingerlings, advanced yearlings and ex-brood stock) and approx. 2.65m native fish into various rivers and impoundments across the state.


For the 2014/15 stocking season, just over 2m natives and almost 550,000 salmonids were actually stocked (less than what had been scheduled at the VicFish Stock Meetings).


In 2015, The Andrews government committed to increasing participation in fishing to 1,000,000 anglers ("Target 1 million") and 5,000,000 fish (mixed native & salmonids), however it is unclear what the breakdown of those 5,000,000 fish wll be.

NSW
NSW Fisheries expect to release around 2.9m brown & rainbow trout (mainly fry) into the states waters in 2016/17 with around 1.2m of those going into rivers and streams.

Tasmania
The Inland Fisheries Service in Tasmania have stocked various waters across the state with brown & rainbow trout plus atlantic salmon (fry, fingerling/yearling and adult) during the past 12 months.

Western Australia
During 2014 season West Australian Fisheries stocked around 500,000 (mix of brown & rainbow fry, yearling & brood) trout into rivers and around 30,000 yearlings into impoundments in the south west of the state. This is fairly typical of their annual stocking programs with similar numbers of fish released into those same waters in 2015 and again in 2016.

South Australia
Trout stocking in South Australia is mainly carried out by the South Australian Fly Fishers Association (SAFFA) and the South Australia Fresh Water Anglers Association (SAFWAA) - Trout stocking numbers (combined) are believed to be around 170,000 in total (TBC)

Fish stocking - Hepburn Lagoon
Vic. Fisheries staff & ATF releasing trout
at Hepburn Lagoon
Rainbow trout fingerlings
Rainbow trout fingerlings ready for release
stocking Ovens River
ATF members releasing trout into Ovens River

 


Jordan-Scotty incubator Trials

 

< Home