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- 6 September 2000
Native Fish Protection
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Page: 8692
The Hon. P. T. PRIMROSE: My question is to the Minister for Fisheries. What is being done to protect our native fish, such as silver perch and the southern pygmy perch?
The Hon. E. M. OBEID: It is important to protect our native Australian freshwater fish as they are a terrific resource. They provide freshwater anglers with great recreational fishing and are fast becoming the backbone of our growing New South Wales aquaculture industry. Indeed, our farmed Murray cod and barramundi are world recognised. Silver perch is another native species that is widely farmed in New South Wales. Silver perch farmers will produce an estimated 300 tonnes of product worth more than $2 million this financial year.
Unfortunately, the future for the wild silver perch population is not optimistic as its numbers continue to decline. Predation, disease, cold water pollution, weirs and floodgates have devastated this important Australian native species. I am advised that only one natural breeding population is known to exist in the Murray River, near the Torrumbarry Weir in New South Wales. Despite a voluntary ban imposed in the 1980s by commercial fishers and a total ban on recreational fishing since 1998, wild silver perch is not recovering in the numbers this Government would like.
In order to better protect our wild silver perch I have accepted the advice of the independent Fisheries Scientific Committee to list the species as vulnerable under the threatened species provisions of the Fisheries Management Act 1994. I have taken the same action also with another of our native freshwater species—the southern pygmy perch. This small carnivorous fish was reasonably widespread until the 1970s. Since then it has been in decline and is now reduced to only a fraction of its previous distribution in the Murray-Darling Basin.
New South Wales Fisheries will work with other government agencies, recreational fishers, local councils and the community to develop a comprehensive recovery plan. New South Wales has some of the most comprehensive laws in Australia to protect and restore threatened species in rivers and streams. Keen anglers are still able to catch silver perch in 31 dams, weirs and impoundments specifically stocked by silver perch bred at New South Wales government hatcheries. This stocking program is a direct result of funding from the successful freshwater licence program. Silver perch farmers or people with this fish in farm dams will continue to be able to harvest their fish.
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