Publication (Media): Fishing for answers on river flow

Publication Type:	Media Release
Publication Name:	Fishing for answers on river flow

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Humphries, Paul and Markwort, Karen (1997) Fishing for answers on river flow - Apr 11 1997, CRCFE, Canberra - Media Release.

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April 11, 1997

CRCFE

Fishing for answers on river flow

Researchers from the Murray-Darling Freshwater Research Centre in Albury are taking National Science Week (April 14-18) off. They’re donning waders and wetsuits, grabbing nets and going fishing.

The week long expedition on the Campaspe and Broken rivers (in the Benalla-Shepparton-Echuca region) is part of a long-term study, being conducted by the Cooperative Research Centre for Freshwater Ecology, aimed at establishing just how much flow is required to keep a river healthy.

The study involves reviewing the “health” of the heavily regulated Campaspe River both before and after a change in the river’s flow regime to increase, on average, the duration of winter flows. The relatively unregulated Broken River is also being monitored to provide a benchmark against which changes in the Campaspe’s ecology can be measured.

The change in winter flow regime is scheduled to take place in May 1998. Goulburn-Murray Water has agreed to change the operation of Lake Eppalock so that a quarter of all inflowing water to the dam, when it is above 200GL, will be released downstream between May and October, 1988.

In the meantime, the research team is busy gathering data to determine the abundance, diversity and breeding tendencies of fish and aquatic invertebrates and plants in the Campaspe under regulated conditions.

Next week’s trip will involve sampling both aquatic insects and other invertebrates as well as juvenile and adult fish using a variety of methods. Researchers from the Department of Natural Resources and Environment are collaborating to conduct field work and will use electrofishing, an efficient and humane technique which uses electric currents to temporarily immobilise fish, to gather the adult fish data.

Project leader, Dr Paul Humphries, said regulation had effectively reversed the seasonal flow of rivers, ensuring that rivers ran high during summer to coincide with the period of greatest human demand.

'While having rivers run high in summer suits human requirements, it’s not so good for the river’s inhabitants who have evolved to take advantage of low summer flow and high flows, even floods, during winter,' Dr Humphries said.

Dr Humphries said the research team was starting to piece together a picture of just how well the native fish and aquatic invertebrates in the Campaspe were coping with river regulation.

Six schools in the Shepparton region are assisting these efforts by participating in the Murray-Darling Freshwater Research Centre’s FLAG (Fish Larvae Action Group) Program. The program, coordinated by education officer Mike Copland, involves the schools collecting fish larvae data on a weekly basis and provides the students with the opportunity of participating in real scientific research.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Anyone wishing to obtain photos or video footage of the researchers working on the Campaspe or Broken rivers next week should contact Paul Humphries at the Murray-Darling Freshwater Research Centre (060) 582 317 to organise a meeting point.

Great visuals available - researchers using electrofishing (boats with large electric probes attached to the front) boats to gather data on fish, netting fish and aquatic invertebrates, researchers diving for snags in wetsuits (to gather aquatic invertebrates).

Work on the Broken will be conducted between Benalla and Shepparton. Work on the Campaspe will be conducted between Echuca and Lake Eppalock.

Karen Markwort
(06) 201 5369'015 265 643

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