John Lake Centre, Narrandera Fisheries Centre

[Member]

On a recent trip south I made time to visit the John Lake Centre at Narrandera in Southern NSW.   This is where NSW Fisheries breed their Murray Cod, Trout Cod and until recently Macquarie Perch.  For $7.70 a very informative tour can be taken, although the ponds and hatchery buildings were in quarantine while I was there due to the Cod breeding in September.

This is one of the ponds, where up to 12 Cod will be held to breed.

[Member]

The aquariums in the visitors centre are pretty good.  This is Agro the Murray Cod, he's 98cm long, weighs 18kg and he's 17 years old.

[Member]

The Trout Cod on display is a beautiful fish.  With the population of these fish increasing, there is current consideration to have them taken off the protected species list.

[Member]

The funding has just been stopped for Macquarie Perch breeding, which is very sad.  They are a beautiful native fish.

[Member]

Great pics mate. Thanks for sharing.

I wish they'd picked a different name for trout cod, they're nothing to do with trout. I reckon it's a terrible name.....

I wonder if those blokes can come to Qld and teach them how to breed Mary River Cod..... 

[Member]

I had an interesting, long talk with one of the people responsible for the breeding, surprisingly, they leave most of it up to the fish.  New brood stock each year.  They put a scarifier through the dry pond, then line it with a layer of Lucerne hay, fill it from their bore, throw in some breeding drums and add fish.  Add some cheap white wine and play some soft music and there ya go.  They can now tell if any Cod came from there hatchery by using some new scanner on them.  They dye the bones blue on all of their fingerlings apparently, so they don't need to kill them to find out if they were bred there.

[Member]

Did they say why the funding for I the breeding of the Macquaire Perch had stopped?

[Member]

Government decision.  A bit like the Mary River Cod recovery program up here.