Minister for Fishing and Boating Jaala Pulford announced 16 July 2019 that fishing in Victoria will become easier and more accessible with 12 new projects across the state to be funded with fishing licence fees.
Jaala Pulford joined recreational fishers at the Snobs Creek hatchery near Eildon to announce the 12 new projects which include new fishing platforms and access tracks, more fish habitat into rivers and lakes, and lots of learn-to-fish clinics for beginners.
The Gippsland Lakes will receive a new woody habitat, which will provide new homes for popular species including bream, estuary perch and Australian bass.
The Little Murray River will also receive new homes for iconic species like Murray cod and golden perch with more snags and woody habitat added to the waterway
Fishcare Victoria will receive funding to deliver 100 ‘Fishing For All Abilities’ clinics in the Kingston, Bayside, Hobsons Bay and Port Phillip shires and 200 workshops through schools and at community events.
Fishing facilities and access will be boosted across Victoria through projects including an extension to the Reeve Landing Jetty at Lakes Entrance, an upgrade of the Rippleside Jetty in Corio Bay, and new fishing platforms and a boardwalk at Ferntree Gully’s Quarry Lake
In central Victoria, the Ballarat Fish Acclimatisation Society on the banks of Lake Wendouree has received funding for a new filtration system to remove suspended solids and boost trout survival rates.
These projects complement dozens of others funded by the Andrews Labor Government’s $35 million Target One Million plan to get more people fishing, more often in more places.
Snobs Creek hatchery has received more than $2 million of funding from recreational fishing licence fees to help it grow and stock popular species like Murray cod, rainbow trout, brown trout, Chinook salmon, Macquarie perch and trout cod.
The hatchery is the backbone of fish production for Victoria’s state-wide stocking program and will be supported by a new native fish hatchery near Shepparton, to be operational by 2022.
For details of all 12 new licence-funded projects visit vfa.vic.gov.au/feesatwork2019
Minister for Fishing and Boating Jaala Pulford says, “Fishers love to see their licence fees put to work on projects that will boost grass-roots fishing in Victoria and these projects will do exactly that.”