THREATENED fish species now have an improved chance of survival following the construction of a fishway on the Loddon River.
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North Central Catchment Management Authority project manager Greg Barber said the ability to migrate to breed was important to the survival of native fish.
The $280,000 fishway and chute at Canary Island, near Serpentine, open up 123 kilometres of the river to fish by removing the last barrier between the Murray River and the Loddon weir.
In the 1980s a pipe was built on the river to combat a diversion of the river caused by early settlers, but it proved to be a significant impediment to fish movement.
Mr Barber said the pipe had stopped fish migrating to breed and trapped them both upstream and downstream.
“The fishway potentially opens up a large stretch of Loddon to threatened fish species such as silver perch, Murray cod and trout cod, as well as golden perch, Murray Darling rainbowfish and freshwater catfish,” Mr Barber said.
He said that while small to medium-bodied fish were expected to benefit most from the fishway, it would also allow for environmental flows that could benefit larger species, such as Murray cod.
The project contributed to the CMA’s Native Fish Recovery Plan, Mr Barber said, which aimed to increase native fish numbers through flows, revegetation and fencing.