Fishes--Identification]]> Birds--Identification]]> Reptiles--Identification]]> Weirs]]> Droughts]]> Floods]]> Wetland conservation]]> Wetlands]]> Farming]]> Revegetation]]> Water allocations]]>
Hayley Purbrick is a fifth generation member of the Purbrick Family who owns the Tahbilk Winery. She grew up on nearby Lake Nagambie and has interacted with the river since she was a child. She is involved in the conservation and revegetation of the wetlands in Tahbilk, Victoria.

In the interview, Hayley discusses the wetlands and the wildlife she encounters, the difficulties she experiences in her interactions with government, the Goulburn Weir and how she feels it is an asset to the wetlands and surrounds, and the future of farming that is experiencing a shift towards environmental awareness ushered in by the new generation of farmers.

Mention of:
Worms, Mexican Lily, swans, koalas, wallabies, turtles, platypus, wrens, brown snakes, red-belly black snakes, ibis, cranes, ducks, lizards.]]> CC-BY]]> Fishes--Identification]]> Fishing--Australia]]> Bait fishing]]> Floods]]> Weirs]]> Fish kills]]> Introduced fishes]]>
Born in 1953, Jenny Shields is a local fisher from Seymour in Victoria and member of the Seymour Anglers club who also enjoys fishing with her three children and her husband, Wayne.

In the interview Jenny discusses: growing up and fishing on the river; turbidity of the water; the different currents of the Goulburn and Murray Rivers; the changing flow of the river due to dredging at Goulburn Park; the annual River Run event beginning at Walnut Grove; carp issues; stagnant water and subsequent fish kills.

Mentioned: Tortoises, platypuses, ducks, worms, Bardi/Witchetty grubs, cheese, yabbies.
]]> CC BY-NC]]> Fishes--Identification]]> Reptiles--Identification]]> Lure fishing]]> Water pollution]]> Trawls and trawling]]> Camping]]> Fishing--Australia]]>
Jody Liversidge is a recreational fisher living in Shepparton in northern Victoria. She grew up in a family that enjoyed fishing and camping, and they frequently traveled to many different places. She currently fishes with her husband and her sons who all love the Murray Cod.

Jody discusses her favourite lures, the increased pollution and littering in the Goulburn River, the disappearance of the sandbars, the numerous fishing places she likes to visit and the fishing restrictions on sizes that she believes will allow fish numbers to increase.

Mentioned:

'Bream', bardi grubs, tiger snakes, red-belly black snakes, brown snakes, lizards, ducks, kangaroos, wombats, kookaburras, pelicans, water rats.
]]> CC-BY]]> Irrigation]]> Fishes--Identification]]> Introduced species]]> Wetlands]]> Ecological sustainability]]> Geomorphology]]> Riparian areas]]> Billabongs]]> Floodplains]]> Fish habitat improvement]]> Environmental flows]]> Fishing industry]]> Physical characteristics (Animals)]]>
John Koehn is a research officer for the Arthur Rylah Institute, Melbourne, and studies freshwater fish ecology. John Douglas works for Victorian Fisheries, and Roy Patterson is a Taungurung man.

John Koehn talks about: his work recovering Catfish and Silver Perch populations in the Murray-Darling Basin, 2000; a commercial fishery that existed at Barren Box when Catfish abundant; drivers of Catfish decline; strengths and weakness of different fish species; impact of irrigation releases on water flow e.g. Murray River; impact of European carp on billabongs and lagoons; carp removal; importance of billabongs, floodplains, wetlands in the Murray-Darling system, their loss and degradation from human activities; importance of ‘active’ ecological management; geomorphology; importance of 'instability' in creating diverse habitats for fish species; changes in vegetation e.g. Phragmite (Common Reed).

The group add their diverse knowledge to the topics discussed, in particular the variety of Catfish species found across the Murray-Darling Basin.]]> CC BY]]> ]]> Maryborough, Vic [populated place]]]> Torrumbarry Weir, NSW [dam]]]> Eulo, Qld [populated place]]]> Albury, NSW [populated place]]]> Alexandra, Vic [populated place]]]> Barren Box Swamp, NSW [swamp]]]>
An archival version of the Talking Fish Collection is managed by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Data Archive (ATSIDA).]]> Fishes--Identification]]> Plants--Identification]]> Native animals]]> Eucalyptus camaldulensis]]> Erosion]]> Fishes--Migration]]> Floods]]> Weirs]]> Riparian areas]]> Local history]]> Water temperature]]>
Born in 1922, Ken’s family have lived on the ‘Hughendon’ property at Thornton since the 1860s. The Goulburn River runs on one side of the property and the Rubicon River runs through the middle.

Ken talks about: growing up on a meat and dairy cattle property; changes in the rivers after the weir was built in 1956 (size and frequency of floods, flood dissipation, water temperature, fish species); floods in 1916 and 1934; role of horses in floods; land erosion, role of Willow trees in stabilising soil and providing fish habitats; River Improvement Trust; yabbying; ferreting; Willow, Black Wattle, Red Gum; snakes; platypus.

Transcript mentions the following fish, however species unspecified: bream, trout, skip jack.]]> CC-BY]]> Fishes--Identification]]> Floods]]> Droughts]]> Riparian areas]]> Environmental flows]]> Ecotourism]]> Ecological sustainability]]>
Kevin and Fern talk about: changes they have seen at Hollands Creek over decades; droughts and recent floods in Tatong; force of flood waters on habitat e.g. rock, tree deposits; new habitats and flows created by floods; eco-preservation and eco-tourism; Hollands Creek Demonstration Reach.

Mention of unspecified fish species: trout, galaxias.
]]> CC BY]]> Tatong, Vic [populated place]]]> Hollands Creek, Vic [stream]]]> Fishes--Identification]]> Fly fishing]]> Fishing--Australia]]> Floods]]> Water quality]]> Fisheries]]> Droughts]]> Fish stocking]]>
Mick Hall is a fly fisher living in Alexandra in Victoria. He learned how to fish when he was four years of age. After a break, he took up fishing again around the age of 14 and has been fishing ever since.

Mick speaks about how he came to be involved in fly fishing and the Red Tag Fly Fishing Club; the water quality and how fostering a relationship and ongoing communication with authorities helps to address river issues; restocking the river; floods and droughts; the environmental impacts of willows; and the change in attitudes amongst users of the river from that of neglect to one of protection and conservation.

Mention of:

Willow trees, Trout, maggots, platypus.

Australian Trout Foundation, Red Tag Fly Fishing Club
]]> CC-BY]]> Fishes--Identification]]> Fish hatcheries]]> Fieldwork]]> Fishing nets]]> Camping]]> Diet]]> Fishes--Diseases]]> Fish traps]]> Captive breeding]]> Fishes--Breeding]]> Fishes--Migration]]> Billabongs]]> Floods]]> Fisheries]]> Physical characteristics (Animals)]]> Fishes--Monitoring]]> Scientific methods]]>
Born in 1926, Raymond Donald was a technician at the Snobs Creek Hatchery for thirty-five years. During fieldwork trips, which could last for several weeks, not only did Raymond set nets, angle for brood stock, and process fish, but he also ensured camp life on trips went well. Renowned as a great camp cook, teams would catch game to supplement the provisions they carried with them.

Raymond talks about: growing up in Eildon and living at Rhonda on the Goulburn River; working on the Goulburn River from the headwaters to the Murray; working on Trout Cod at Snobs Creek Hatchery; finding diseases in fish species; stations at Yarrawonga, Echuca, Mildura, where they trapped fish; being the first in Australia to artificially breed Macquarie Perch; migration of fish from Lake Eildon to Jamieson, Goulburn; water temperatures and spawning; plankton surveys in billabongs and flooded rivers; days before radio transmitters, tagging and tracking over twelve-hundred Golden Perch; the effect of 1956 and 1958 floods on fish species; camping and cooking bush tucker on field trips; translocating Murray cod from Lake Charlegrark; impact of European Carp on Catfish, 1970s.

Born 1947, John McKenzie initially worked at Fisheries and Wildlife, and then Freshwater Fisheries on the Murray. He was involved in early development of radio tracking, and was involved in fieldwork with Snobs Creek Hatchery.

John talks about: his work with Fisheries and Wildlife, and Freshwater Fisheries on the Murray; sampling fish for growth rates, age, stomach content; tagging and tracking native fish with radio transmitters; work with Arthur Rylah Institute; techniques and chemicals used to catch/sample fish; coexistence of Redfin and Catfish species; disconnection of billabongs from rivers; and electrofishing revolutionising sampling.

Other fish mentioned (species unspecified): galaxias, grayling.
]]> CC BY-NC]]> Fisheries]]> Fishes--Identification]]> Plants--Identification]]> Wetlands]]> Restoration ecology]]> Fish habitat improvement]]>
Rolf talks about: wetland vegetation; role of plants in providing protection for fish and their eggs; Myriophyllum (Water Milfoil) plant species, and the few locations it is found; role of plant bacteria and algae in plant ecosystems; Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act, 1988; change in focus from wildlife to habitat management; lack of information about wetland vegetation; process of species identification.]]> CC BY]]> Lake Moodemere, Vic [lake]]]> Floods]]> Weirs]]> Fishing--Australia]]> Boats]]> Lagoons--Australia]]> Rainfall frequencies]]> Lure fishing]]>
Ron Bain was born in 1918 on a farm in Seymour. After share-farming for six years, he bought his own farm in Timboon. He returned to Seymour and purchased a shop with his family and after 12 months had packed up to travel around Australia in a caravan with his wife which continued for seven years. After this trip, Ron returned to Seymour and has resided in the area ever since.

During his life in Seymour, Ron has witnessed a lot of changes to the Goulburn River. He notes the reduced flow of the river as well as the eradication of floods, which in turn have negatively impacted the cod population and dried out the lagoons. He blames this largely on the installation of the Eildon Weir, and also on low precipitation.

Mentioned:

Sandworms, bardi grubs, trout, turtles, platypus, snakes, tiger snakes, red river gum trees, black wattle, rabbits.]]> CC-BY]]>