Federal Govt To Fund Stevens Weir Fish Ladder

[mrmoshe]

Federal Govt to fund Stevens Weir fish ladder

A Deniliquin fisherman in southern New South Wales has managed to convince the Federal Government it needs to fund a fish ladder at Stevens Weir on the Edward River so fish can reach their breeding grounds.

Ian Fisher says he spent 18 months campaigning for the fish ladder.

It involved proving the river was eligible for Living Murray funding because it was used as a bypass for water going to South Australia.

Mr Fisher says the end result would mean more fish in the river system.

"It will improve the fishing in the river of course which is one of the things that we want to see," he said.

"They'll be able to get upstream from the weir and they'll be able to get into the Millawa/Barmah forest which is primarily where they breed.

"Native fish usually breed when it's flooding and they ... spread out into the flood plains and lay their eggs and that's where they breed."