Member for Camden Peter Sidgreaves was on hand to witness 1000 Australian Bass fingerlings take to their new home in Harrington Park Lake as part of the NSW Government’s annual freshwater fish stocking plan.
Mr Sidgreaves said yesterday’s top-up was great news for keen fishers eager to cast a line.
“The Australian Bass is an iconic fish species and it is a pleasure to see its numbers boosted in the Camden area,” Mr Sidgreaves said.
“While these ones might be small now, they can grow up to 65 centimetres long and weigh in at four kilograms, and I am sure our local anglers would be happy with a catch like that.
“The fingerlings came from the NSW Government’s hatcheries as part of our commitment to ensure that our waterways are full of healthy fish.
“Initiatives such as the freshwater fish stocking plan are important for the recreational fishing community because of the critical role they play in conservation, tourism and added economic benefits.”
Mr Sidgreaves said the 1,000 fingerlings stocked into Harrington Park Lake are part of more than 50,000 which will be released into waterways across NSW this week.
“The NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) does an excellent job in making sure our State’s recreational fishers have the chance to do what they love by breeding and releasing such mammoth numbers of fish stocks,” Mr Sidgreaves said.
“DPI chose Harrington Park Lake along with Springs Lake (2000), Spring Farm and The Cascades (500), Lake Annan (1000) and Lake Yandelora (1000) at Mount Annan because the expert team deemed them to be among the best waterways in NSW to see these fingerlings flourish.
“While it was Australian Bass being released this time, the freshwater fish stocking plan also sees Murray Cod, Golden Perch and other species stocked into rivers, lakes and dams across the State.
“Fishos should keep an eye out, because this is the first and certainly won’t be the last stocking event the NSW Government does this season.”
Anglers interested in seeing stocking numbers can access an interactive map on the DPI website https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fishing/recreational/resources/stocking.
