Fish populations

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Streamflow]]> Irrigation]]> Water levels]]> Fishing industry]]> Fishing licences]]> Water quality]]> Introduced species]]> Floods]]> Siltation]]> Salinity]]> Fishing regulations]]> Tournament fishing]]> Blackwater]]> Fishes--Speciation]]> River engineering]]> Fish kills]]> Fishing--Australia]]> Baraba Baraba people]]>
Greg McNeil:, an irrigator, suggests that recent floods might have made unecessary plans to re-snag and reclaim the river. He advocates for a hands-off approach to river management and says that irrigation across the basin has matured while becoming more 'intense'.

Unannounced: recalls professional fishermen; swimming in the river; and observes that there was less recreational fishing in the past. Remembers that the Loddon was different when backed up by a weir from 1923 to 1964 and also talks about water levels and the river's improved health more recently.

Rodger Reilly: remembers fishing with his uncle. Mention of Woods Point. Worked with Fisheries and Wildlife, transferred to the Lands Department, and ended up in Kerang. He talks about needing to change where he goes angling because of the poor quality of water (caused by Cumbungi, siltation); frontage licenses and the advantage of local knowledge.

Esther Kirby; (of the Baraba Baraba people) used to fish at the weir with her brother sister and partner, catching Redfin and Yabbies and sharing the spoils. She talks about the decline in fish diversity (especially catfish) with arrival of Carp; and how she learnt a technique to call fish up from one of her Aunties. She has fished the Edwards, Wakool, Niemur, and Goulburn rivers, among others.

Elaine Jones; learnt to fish for Flounder on the coast and only later stared fishing on the Loddon. She discusses the 1973 flood and the arrival of European Carp; the disappearance of Tortoises; irrigation, water efficiency and the salinity problem.

Ross Stanton: remembers fishing for Redfin out of Gunbower Creek. and talks about schools of small Carp.

Rob O'Brien: learnt to fish with his Uncle in the lower Kerang. catching Yabbies with "roly-poly" woodlice. He talks about the colour of the water; fishing with spinners; and recalls that people used to fill half a wheat bag with Redfin dragging a spinner while walking from the old Kerang bridge to Kerang. He mentions the arrival of Carp in 1974; swimming; siltation; and using drum nets.

The group goes on to discuss the return of Murray Cod; the use of Murray Cod to control Carp; size limits; catch and release; changing attitudes; competitive fishing; blackwater (in 1986); different species of trout cod; and fish lanes.

Esther mentions that the (Wadi Wadi?, Wodi Wodi?) group met with Parks and Wildlife and the Water Catchment Authority to raise the issue of fish being killed by irrigation.

Mention of Murray Darling Freshwater Research Centre; "Water Catchment Authority"; "Fisheries and Wildlife"; "Lands Department"

Also mentions: Red Azolla (Azolla filiculoides); Myriophyllum ("watermilfoil", "cat tail"); Cumbungi (Typha latifolia).]]>
CC BY-NC]]> Loddon River, Vic [stream]]]> Woods Point, Vic [point]]]> Wakool River, NSW [stream]]]> Merran Lake, NSW [lake]]]> Gunbower Creek, Vic [stream]]]> Barr Creek, Vic [stream]]]> Lake Charm, Vic [lake]]]> Kangaroo Lake, Vic [lake]]]> Barmah Lake, Vic [lake]]]> Moira Lake, NSW [lake]]]>
Weirs]]> Floods]]> Traditional ecological knowledge]]> Fishing--Australia]]> Racism]]> Cotton]]> Silt]]> Water quality]]> Water pollution]]> Cultural Flows]]> Coalbed methane]]> Aquifers--Australia]]> Cyanides]]> Riparian areas]]> Ecological sustainability]]> Environmental conservation]]> Salinity]]> Sacred sites]]> Connection to Country]]> Land custodianship]]> Aboriginal spirituality (Baiame)]]> Wiradjuri people]]> Gamilaraay / Gamilaroi / Kamilaroi language]]> Water--Symbolic aspects]]>
Phil Duncan is an Aboriginal man with both Wiradjuri and Gamilaraay heritage. He identifies predominantly as a Gamilaraay man who grew up in Moree in northern New South Wales. Born in 1963, Phil is Chair of the First Peoples' Water Engagement Council and has witnessed a number of important changes in this region regarding cotton farming, weirs and dams, and the water quality.

Phil is knowledgeable in his heritage and emphasises the importance of Aboriginal connection to Country, and caring for Country as an important responsibility for Aboriginal people. He recommends that traditional Aboriginal knowledges be adhered to regarding the conservation of Country as Western land management methods have had a detrimental impact.


Mentioned:

Turtles, sheep & cattle (farming), worms.

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CC BY-NC]]> Moree, NSW [populated place]]]> Terry Hie Hie, NSW [populated place]]]> Terry Hie Hie Creek, NSW [stream]]]> Mehi River, NSW [stream]]]> Boomi Nature Reserve, NSW [reserve]]]> Mungindi, Qld [farm]]]> Barwon River, NSW [stream]]]> Narrabri, NSW [populated place]]]> Gwydir River, NSW [stream]]]> Boolaroo, NSW [section of populated place]]]> Copeton Dam, NSW [dam]]]> Namoi River, NSW [stream]]]> Cubbie, Qld [homestead]]]> Keepit Dam, NSW [lake]]]> Narran Lake, NSW [lake]]]> Macquarie Marshes, NSW [marsh(es)]]]> Boolaroo, NSW [populated place]]]> Mungindi, NSW [populated place]]]>
An archival version of the Talking Fish Collection is managed by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Data Archive (ATSIDA).]]>
Floods]]> Fisheries]]> Salinity]]> River engineering]]> Bait fishing]]> Fishing industry]]> Soldier settlement]]>
Born in 1935, Malcom is a professional fisherman. First taught to fish by his grandfather, he bought a professional licence in 1957.

Malcom talks about: soldier settlements around the time of the 1956 flood; government allocation of river sections for commercial fishing; professional fishing equipment and techniques; baiting methods; process of preparing and transporting fish for market, and market prices; diseased fish (‘Redfin were good carriers’); electrofishing techniques; deterioration of trees as a result of unnatural flooding and salinity in floodplains caused by the locks; impact on deteriorated floodplains on native fish (whereas carp thrive); yabbying after flood events; the social impact of insufficient income from commercial fishing; floods 1956, 1970s.
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Fishes--Identification]]> Plants--Identification]]> Salinity]]> Environmental flows]]> Water levels]]> Aboriginal culture]]> Aboriginal fish traps]]> Fishing industry]]> Floods]]> Family histories]]>
The group talk about: a wall structure built in 1959 which stopped flows and reduced water levels in Ral Ral Creek; the story behind the naming of Squabbily Creek; Aboriginal rock corrals and cooking places; professional fishing methods; family records of plant species (lucerne, hawthorn, rhubarb, nardoo) created by Bert Stoneham; disappearance of lobster in the 1960s; 1956 and 1970 floods; salt interception scheme.]]>
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Weirs]]> Salinity]]> Family life]]> Diet]]> Floods]]> Fishes--Identification]]> Fishes--Speciation]]> Weeds]]> Environmental flows]]> Wetlands]]> Native animals]]> Water levels]]> Physical characteristics (Animals)]]> Lure fishing]]> Water temperature]]>
Born in 1949, Barry lives in Berri, in the Riverland area. Having worked on a pile driving barge and worked most his life on the river, Barry has extensive knowledge of locks and weirs from the Murray mouth to Euston (Lock 15). He currently monitors and models salinity in the Murray and Riverland area and also grows capers and caperberries.

Barry talks about: fishing in the 1950s as a cheap addition to the family diet; changes in fishing methods and equipment, including the exclusive use of lures; boat designs; professional fishing reaches/areas; yabbying – a ‘historic institution’ post flood event; changes observed in fish species, weeds, river flow, temperature, salinity; salt interception schemes; bathometric data; work with the palaeobotany group at Flinders University tracking floods by tree lines; water retention in wetlands; evaporation and disposal basins; wildlife observed over the years (kangaroo, echidna, bat, owl, possum, snake, birds, water rat), including Emu that swim; records of fish caught between 2002 and 2006. Mention of floods in 1956, 1974, 1975, 1981, 1990s. Other fish species mentioned: garfish (at Coffin Bay).]]>
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Fishes--Identification]]> Plants--Identification]]> Birds--Identification]]> Snakes]]> Riparian areas]]> Bait fishing]]> Floods]]> Salinity]]> Irrigation]]> Local history]]> Military service]]> World War II]]> Communities]]> Soldier settlement]]>
Born in Renmark in 1923, Howard lives on the banks of the Murray River at Pyap, near Loxton. He grew up in an underprivileged First World War settlement in Renmark, spending school holidays helping his father on the land picking dried fruit and tending to animals. Howard was a Royal Australian Air Force pilot and bomber in World War II, and commercial pilot for British Airways. When he returned with his brother from WWII he took up an ex-serviceman block near Loxton.

Howard recalls history about: soldier settlements after the First Word War (Renmark, Berri, Barmera, Waikerie); the mix of cultures in the population as a result of the World Wars; training at an army camp at Victor Harbour, and training as a fighter pilot at Deniliquin in 1942; the sinking of the Australian Hospital Ship Centaur; experiencing WWII first hand on the south coast of England and as a bomber pilot over Germany.

Howard also discusses: fishing at Ral Ral Creek growing up, a tributary of the Murray River; changes in fish species (the main three being Cod, Callop, Bony Bream); the number of trees and shade along the river bank; fishing methods used on the river bank, and types of bait (e.g. birds to catch shrimp, mussels to catch cod); changes observed in minor and major flood cycles; changes in salinity, and the resulting changes in irrigation practice in the Riverland; yabbying techniques and where they were most abundant; bird nesting and water bird species; snakes; vegetation; floods 1931 (Renmark), 1951, 1956, 1959 (Berri).

Also mentioned: Tree of Knowledge (Berri, marked with flood levels).
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Fishes--Identification]]> Fishing boats]]> Fishing regulations]]> Licenses]]> Water--Law and legislation]]> Fishing nets]]> Family histories]]> Family life]]> Irrigation]]> Water quality]]> Dams]]> Weirs]]> Fishes--Migration]]> Salinity]]> Fishes--Breeding]]> Floodplains]]> Fishing industry]]> Environmental flows]]>
Born in 1942, John held a commercial licence between 1956 and 1997. He discusses his family history in commercial fishing since 1918, three generations. His grandfather was also a boat maker. He tells the story of how ‘Squabbily Creek’ at Murtho Forest came to be named by his father Raymond Charles ‘John’ Aston. In those days, buying a fishing reach meant buying good will, not the water. John talks extensively about professional fishing as a family business, and gives a sense of the long hours of labour the whole family put into making fishing nets and boats. Professional fishing has an important memory status amongst people who live along the river.

John talks about: fishing licenses, and the licence system introduced in 1922; fishing equipment; fishing practices, since 1920s; changes in fishing materials and the introduction of synthetics, 1960s; changes in water levels from irrigation; impact of Dartmouth Dam on River Murray flow; Hume Dam levels; flows from the Darling; water colour and clarity; three distinct water colours (in the Murray, Lachlan/Murrumbidgee, Darling); changes to water levels with the building of weirs and locks, late 1920s; objects he has found in the guts of Murray Cod; 1956 flood; 1992 flood – ‘a complete change of fish’; Chowilla Floodplain, 1991-1993; movement of wildlife in floods; salt from irrigation. (Mention of 'bream' fish, unspecified).
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Fishing--Australia]]> Salinity]]> Indigenous medicine]]> Burial sites]]> Wetlands]]> Dredging]]> Introduced fishes]]> Droughts]]> Birds--Identification]]> Fishes--Identification]]> Fishes--effect of water levels on]]> Erosion]]> Spawning]]> Traditional ecological knowledge]]> Water quality]]>
Kingsley is from the Gerard Aboriginal community in South Australia. Born in 1971, he has always lived on the river; camping with family and extended family, a time for Elders to educate the younger generations about Country. Kingsley shares his knowledge of a changing and interconnected landscape.

Kingsley talks about: teaching family to swim and fish; yabbying methods; a period when Catfish species were rare; salinity (water and ground table) issues and low water levels; lack of ‘decent’ floods; Aboriginal grave sites and culture, native bushes, and native vegetables impacted by environmental degradation (e.g. traditional medicinal methods); the role of wetlands and back creeks (backwaters) as nurseries for all animals; the impact of Willow tree removal on Murray Cod and Callop; different types of soil in the area; changes observed in water colour; hybrid knowledge systems (incorporating Western into Aboriginal), and the desire to learn from each other. Also mentioned: snake species; water birds; vegetation; Crown Land.

Indigenous terms for fish species discussed:
Murray cod - Gadu, Pondi’s Gadu;
Yellowbelly - Thaigai; Pilaki
Catfish - Gaigai;
Bony bream: Thukeri
Silver Bream - Tookaree;
Silver Perch - Bungi.

One of the images in the collection includes a book called 'Tucker' by Ian Abdulla (1947-2011). It is a children's illustrated book about an Aboriginal boy who grows up along the Murray River, when bush tucker was plentiful.
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Fishes--Identification]]> Floods]]> Salinity]]> Fishes--Migration]]> Aboriginal culture]]> Droughts]]> Marine ecology]]> Fishing nets]]>
Dean, born 1929, is from Victor Harbour, and lived through the 1956 flood. Married since 1960, Dean and Sally live at Mundoo Island near the mouth of the Murray River. Dean recalls memories fishing with his father, and spear fishing with mates at Victor Harbour in the ocean. They talk extensively about the changes in fish species and vegetation they have seen at Mundoo Island and other parts of the Coorong and Lakes systems.

Dean and Sally talk about: changes in vegetation at Mundoo Island due to salt (brackish) water; fishing methods and equipment used in the ocean and lakes (including a pitchfork to catch Flounder); seeing dead Murray cod from upstream in the 1956 flood; natural movement of Congolli species from fresh to saltwater; activities of cockling, floundering, and yabbying; local Aboriginal culture; the effects of wind power on the water system; marine species (e.g. shark, seal, stingray, turtle) in the Coorong; and the severity of recent droughts compared with earlier ones.

Other fish species mentioned: tcherie/turie/toukrie, salmon trout, sunfish, pyebrie, garfish, whiting. ]]>
CC BY-NC-ND]]> [was Mundoo Channel pre-barrage]]]> ]]> ]]>
Local history]]> Aboriginal culture]]> Aboriginal peoples]]> Estuarine ecology]]> Salinity]]> Fishes--Identification]]> Traditional ecological knowledge]]> Plants--Identification]]> Birds--Identification]]> Agricultural land]]> Floods]]> Acid sulfate soils]]> Weeds]]> Introduced fishes]]> Naturalists]]> Fish surveys]]> Boats]]> Threatened species]]>
Terry and John collectively discuss: pre-barrage days, when a blue line was visible, separating fresh from salt water in Lake Alexandrina (which is now freshwater); changes in fishing methods and equipment; a time when the Mulloway fish species were captured for their gelatine; history of flows and currents in the Coorong from the southern end, as a result of drainage schemes; salinity from agricultural soils and runoff; hypersalinity of the Coorong; traditional knowledge and legends of the Ngarrindjeri peoples; comparisons in flooding and rainfall between 1956 flood and the present day; the dairy and agricultural industry and trade routes in the 1950s; history of prominent naturalists studying the area; the Strathalbyn Nationalist book, an extensive repository of vertebrates, invertebrates, and plants in the area; South Australian Naturalist surveys; observation of fauna in the 1950s-60s and consequent changes; popular family and community activities (e.g. fishing, yabbying, hunting); history of boat types and fishermen huts (‘shacks’); dredging and acid sulphate soil issues; methods of catching and transporting fish (and duck); the impact of salinity on the small snails in the food chain of duck species; vegetation (weeds) popular to ducks; and the effect of European carp in the 1970s on the swan population; 1956 flood, and a family story about a 1870 flood; plant species.

They discuss a fish species 'disostra' in the Coorong and worldwide that died off in the early 20th century. They talk about water birds, and a species called a Banded Stilt which feeds on brine shrimp - a sign of hypersalinity.

Also mentioned: the South Australian Farmers Union, which became Southern Farmers, then National Foods.]]>
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