Reconnecting fish habitats

Why is this project important?

Fish need to travel along waterways to breed, feed and thrive.

Some fish even need to move between freshwater and saltwater to breed.

Barriers in waterways (such as weirs, roads and floodgates) act as roadblocks to fish moving along waterways.

What are we doing?

The Reconnecting fish habitat project is working to find solutions to help fish move around these barriers.

This includes working with barrier owners (such as local councils) to either remove the barriers or construct fishways (also known as fish ladders).

What have we achieved?

Actions from the project include removing an obsolete weir on Richmond River near Casino, monitoring fish movement at Kyogle Weir Fishway and improving fish passage on the Brunswick River.

Our Reconnecting Fish Passage Team have released two short animations showing how fish navigate through two commonly used fishways - rock ramp fishways and vertical slot fishways.

• The secret life of fish(ways) - Rock Ramp Fishways
• The secret life of fish(ways) - Vertical Slot Fishways

Find out more about barriers to fish passage and ways to assist fish to move around them on the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development website.

If you are interested in installing fishways, contact Scott Nichols for further advice at scott.nichols@dpi.nsw.gov.au

“Adding a fishway to a weir is a win for the ecology of the river and for fishers upstream, as native fish can return to areas where they have been previously blocked from since the weir’s construction.”  Scott Nichols (Department of Primary Industries – Fisheries)

DPIRD Fisheries

To implement this project, we are working with:

• local councils
• other government agencies and communities
• industry
• the Recreational Fishing Saltwater Trust Fund (Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development Fisheries).

• Barriers to fish passage
• Weir remediation
• Fishways