Science and Research Updates - Fisheries science

The NSW Department of Primary Industries is continuing its work to control a noxious weed in Wallagoot Lake, on the NSW Far South Coast, Jane Frances, NSW DPI Manager Aquatic Biosecurity & Risk Management, said today.

The first Australian trial of an infrared fish counter at Lock 10 (Wentworth) on the Murray will boost scientists’ understanding of native fish migration along the river.

The NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) has entered into a collaborative agreement with Southern Cross Shellfish to improve supply of selectively bred oyster juveniles to the NSW oyster industry.

For the first time anywhere in the world, the iconic, Southern Bluefin Tuna has been bred in captivity, opening the door for aquaculture based on hatchery reared juveniles.

About 30 black bream are being implanted with acoustic tags (pingers) to monitor their movements and improve fish migration along the Murray River.

A NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) paper on an innovative control technique for the introduced marine seaweed, Caulerpa taxifolia, has received an award from the prestigous scientific journal Biological Conservation as the most cited paper from that journal for the five year period 2003-2008

Valuable information on the recreational fishery in two major impoundments - Burrinjuck and Blowering Dams - is being gathered by NSW DPI researchers.

The success of a new fish lift at Tallowa Dam will be the focus of a four-year NSW DPI study.

In a major international achievement southern bluefin tuna broodstock has been induced to spawn in captivity, bringing the possibility of tuna farming in NSW closer to reality. 

DPI scientists worked with commercial fishers to survey the recovery of fish stocks in the Richmond River after a major flood in January. 

A new NSW DPI project aims to reduce the impacts of irrigation pumps on fish communities by developing protective screens preventing the extraction of native fish from main river systems.

A new three-year research program to develop methods for cultivating the seagrass Posidonia australis for small-scale rehabilitation has recently been funded by the NSW Environmental Trust.

NSW DPI continues its significant research effort towards the development of a breeding program for the grey nurse shark.

New light has been thrown on the relationship between the moon and fish activity by NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) scientists.

The on-going drought is having at least one positive spin-off - fewer carp are being distributed through our inland waterways.

One of the world’s most serious and controversial fishing issues - the waste associated with unwanted by-catch - is the subject of a new book edited by NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) Chief Scientist, Dr Steve Kennelly.

Researchers have released the first of 60 fish fitted with high-tech tracking devices back into the Shoalhaven River as part of a major NSW Government study of their biology, ecology and the effects of environmental flows.

Fish researchers are investigating whether populations of redfin perch in the Wollondilly catchment are carrying a virus that can devastate popular angling fish such as Murray cod, native perch species and trout.

The total allowable commercial catch (TACC) for abalone will be reduced for the coming season and a Special Abalone Recovery Group will be established to re-build stocks in NSW.

NSW Department of Primary Industries’ (DPI) staff have released more than 400 small rare native fish, the southern pygmy perch, earlier this month into a creek in the Upper Lachlan catchment, east of Boorowa.

The Deelder fishlock at Balranald Weir has been automated to provide a continuous pathway for fish to move up the Murrumbidgee River.

NSW DPI fisheries scientists are coming up with ways to boost the survival rates of the 47 million fish caught each year by Australian anglers and then released.

A study of the biology, population and catch composition of eastern Australian salmon is to help determine how best to manage stocks of fish in NSW waters.

The oldest fisheries laboratory in the southern hemisphere, at NSW DPI's Cronulla fisheries research centre, has undergone a $1 million upgrade.

Oysters treated with high pressure water look and taste better, according to consumers who participated in a NSW DPI research project.

Scientists have used underwater cameras and radio tracking to spy on an endangered native fish species as they attempt to save it from extinction.

NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) will play a major role in a Seafood Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) which aims to increase supply and the value of seafood to meet increasing demands.

First Australian trials of a specialist underwater acoustic camera have overcome a major difficulty in fisheries research.

Efforts by the oyster industry to breed disease-resistant Sydney rock oysters are to be supported by a new three-year $560,000 research program.

Scientists are searching for potential carp breeding sites in inland NSW rivers in order to identify important recruitment 'hotspots'.

An endangered fish species is being given a better chance at survival, thanks to an innovative project being conducted by scientists.

Visitors to Parliament House and politicians alike were greeted by wobbegong shark pups in the foyer of NSW Parliament last month.