by Gabriella Vukman
Ferntree Gully’s beloved quarry is just one of 220 waterways across the state that are regularly stocked with fish.
The Victorian Fisheries Authority has been hatching and depositing approximately 10 million fish per year, in waterways throughout Victoria.
Investing $96 million into boating and fishing across Victoria the ‘Go Fishing and Boating Plan,’ the initiative will intended to improve piers, aquaculture, boating and recreational fishing across Victoria over the next four years.
Acting Manager of Recreational Fishing with a PhD in fish stocking Dr Taylor Hunt said that they stock the Ferntree Gully Quarry every school holidays each year with fish for the community to catch.
“This provides a fantastic mixed fishery for kids and families to get out, get off the screens and connect with nature,” she said.
“Ferntree Gully quarry is a great asset to the community. It’s got some really good access with fishing platforms. It’s got a really big boardwalk, an excellent playground, public toilets and parking and by stocking fish in there we can make it an even better asset to the community,” Dr Hunt said.
A variety of fish species are stocked in the Ferntree Gully quarry from silver perch, Australian bass and Murray cod to various types of trout.
Dr Hunt said the fish come from a hatchery at Snobb’s Creek in Lake Eildon where they breed our coldwater species such as brown and rainbow trout.
“The Murray cod or the golden perch come from our other hatchery which is a new hatchery in Shepperton which is the largest native fish farm in Australasia,” she said.
“We do put some Australian bass in there as well. We actually buy them from a private producer but they really add to the complement of species in the quarry as a real mixed fishery.”
“What we love about it is that in winter at this time of year when its cold and even through to spring it is fantastic for kids and families to get out and catch trout and as the water warms up, the native fish like the bass, the Murray cod and the golden perch get really active so it provides year round fishing for over five species. There’s also some redfin in the Ferntree Gully quarry as well.”
Unable to breed in the the wild, the fish are bred in a hatchery and then transported via truck to various destinations around Victoria.
The trout put into the quarry are all catchable trout and Dr Hunt said that they mix the eggs together and grow them up before distribution.
“On the 28th of June we put in 450 catchable rainbow trout and they were all 200g and were approximately 20-25cm long,” she said.
“In September, we stock those stonker rainbow trout which are over 5kg so they are a really big fish, over 60-70cm long. Lots of people like to let them go but these fish are great to eat.”
Keen fishers may legally catch five trout per person, per day. Regulations vary across species and can be found at the Victorian Fisheries Authority website.
The Victorian Fisheries Authority assessed potential environmental and ecological issues with the stocking of so many fish and Dr Hunt said, they are very careful and responsible about where we stock fish.
“For anywhere that we stock fish, we always do a risk assessment prior, to look at any issues that might need to be considered,” she said.
“We did a risk assessment for Ferntree Gully Quarry in 2017/2018 with the city of Knox and because it is a quarry and man made and has no connecting waterways there are no environmental issues with stocking fish there.”
“The beauty of the Ferntree Gully quarry is that it is a closed system. Stocking fish enhances the asset for the community so that people can get out and enjoy fishing.”
The Ferntree Gully quarry is restocked with fish four times per year in time for every school holidays.
Dr Hunt said, the fishery department really recognise the importance of fishing for the community and that’s why we can do great things like this. We get great reports from recreational fishers and the community. They just love it.”
“It’s a fantastic asset for the community to have five species of fish that we stock in a place that’s so close to Melbourne and it’s so pretty and beautiful that we recommend fishers and the community to get down there and enjoy it,” she said.
