More farms get fish friendly
A “fish friendly farms” program, recently launched by NSW Department of Primary Industries, is raising awareness about ways farmers can improve fish populations in their creeks.
“Often, due to lack of the right advice, many landholders carry out farming activities that affect aquatic habitat and lead to a loss of fish from local creeks or rivers,” said program co-ordinator and NSW DPI fisheries manager Craig Copeland.
“We are finding that fish friendly activities on farm can assist in improving on-farm productivity as well.
“A farm creek with good numbers of healthy native fish is an excellent indicator of a well managed farm.”
A new information brochure titled How you can have a fish friendly farm has been produced by NSW DPI, detailing the experiences of some farmers who have made changes to their farms and reaped the rewards.
The brochure outlines the following actions land managers can take to have a fish friendly farm and build native fish populations in their local creek or river:
- Protect and establish native vegetation on stream banks. Where possible, a 30 metre (or more) wide zone of healthy native riparian vegetation should be left along the banks of rivers and creeks,
- Encourage water plants such as ribbon weed and reeds,
- Leave large woody debris (snags) such as fallen trees in the stream,
Control or treat water running off the paddocks, - Practice conservation farming to reduce soil, nutrient and chemical runoff,
- Remove exotic weeds such as willows from the stream bank,
- Manage livestock so that they do not spend time in or near the stream,
- Re-establish and protect natural drainage patterns (eg. wetlands),
- Build fish-friendly road crossings and remove blockages to fish swimming upstream,
- Open floodgates in coastal areas,
- Select appropriate fish species when stocking dams, creeks and rivers,
- Report illegal fishing activities by ringing 1800 043 536.
More detailed technical information is currently being prepared by NSW DPI.
Contact Charlie Grove, (02) 6626 1200.
This story appears Agriculture Today.