Summer stockings of Murray cod continue

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Summer stockings of Murray cod continue - Victoria DPI



Victorian fishers will have more chances to land an iconic Murray cod in the future with 362,000 fingerlings released into seven waters throughout northern Victoria as part of this summer’s stocking program.

Some of the recently stocked Murray cod fingerlings were grown at the Department of Primary Industries’ Snobs Creek hatchery, near Eildon, while others were supplied by hatcheries in New South Wales.

These stockings are being funded by the Victorian Government’s $16 million Recreational Fishing Initiative and also by proceeds from the sale of recreational fishing licences.

The Murray cod stocking season will continue until around March this year when Fisheries Victoria’s focus will turn to more stocking of golden perch, which breed later than the Murray cod.

Locations stocked with Murray cod so far this summer include:


8,000 into Lake Nillahcootie;
22,500 into the Goulburn River upstream of Lake Nagambie to Seymour;
23,000 into Lake Nagambie;
60,000 into Gunbower Creek between Torumbarry Weir Road and Cohuna;
70,000 into the Loddon River at Bridgewater, Serpentine and Fernihurst Weir;
100,000 into Kow Swamp; and
259,200 into Lake Eildon with more to come as part of the ‘Murray Cod Million’ project.
Murray cod fingerlings stocked this summer will take three to five years to reach the minimum legal length of 60 centimetres. If fishers are keen to target catchable size Murray cod in a stocked lake or river, they should refer to stocking histories from several years ago, all of which are available on the Department of Primary Industries website at www.dpi.vic.gov.au/fisheries

Last summer, Fisheries Victoria stocked more than two million native fish for the second consecutive year, including 885,000 Murray cod, to improve freshwater fishing opportunities.