Lake Moondarra
Mt Isa Mines built Lake Moondarra in 1957 on the West Leichhardt River. The lake's name came from a public contest held at the time.
The dam has a storage capacity of 106,000 Ml a catchment of 5,250ha and a surface area of 2,375 ha.
The lake is used for various recreational activities such as canoeing, sailing, boating, skiing, swimming, picnics, and increasingly, fishing. The lake is also the main source of freshwater for Mount Isa and a Fresh Water Lagoon was built to allow the water to naturally filter through reeds and for particles to settle out before pumping to Mount Isa.
Lake Moondarra is the main target for fish stocking in the Mount Isa region. It was the first lake which was stocked with fingerlings. The MIFSG also has a fish breeding facility located near the Freshwater Lagoon.
Stocking History of Lake Moondarra
| Date | Number & Species | Source | Sponsors |
| 25/6/00 | 8,000 sooty grunter | Abingdon Hatchery | MIFSG |
| 13/6/99 | 46,000 sooty grunter | Abingdon Hatchery | MIFSG |
| 10/4/99 | 31,000 sooty grunter | Abingdon Hatchery | DPI & MICC |
| 25/1/99 | 10,000 barramundi | GBRA | MIFSG |
| 15/1/99 | 95 barramundi | GBRA & DPI | |
| 19/5/98 | 30,000 sooty grunter | Abingdon Hatchery | DPI & MICC |
| 15/1/98 | 3,500 barramundi | GBRA & DPI | MIFSG |
| 10/2/95 | 32,000 barramundi | GBRA & DPI | RFEP Program |
| 13/2/94 | 10,000 barramundi | GBRA | RFEP Program |
| 92/93 | 9 Saratoga | Gulf lagoons | MIFSG |
| 5/4/90 | 16,506 sooty grunter | DPI Walkamin | RFEP Program |
| 24/1/89 | 80 Saratoga | DPI | RFEP Program |
| 1985 | 30,000 sooty grunter | DPI Walkamin | MIM |
Fish Species Sampled By
DPI In Lake Moondarra
| Common Name | Species | Relative Abundance |
| Glassfish (perchlets) | Ambassis mulleri | Common |
| Banded Grunter | Amniataba percoides | Common |
| Fork-Tailed Catfish | Arius leptaspis | Moderate |
| Goby | Glossogobius sp C. (?) | Rare |
| Sooty Grunter | Hephaestus fuliginosus | Rare |
| Barramundi | Lates Calcarifer | Rare |
| Spangled Perch | Leiopotherapon unicolor | Rare |
| Rainbowfish | Melanotaenia inornata | Moderate |
| Bony Bream | Nematolosa erebi | Common |
| Sleepy Cod | Oxyeleotris selheimi | Moderate |
| Long Tom | Strongylura kreffti | Common |
| Archer Fish | Toxotes chatareus | Common |
| Source: DPI Report (Malcolm Pearce & Alf Hogan) | ||
The following pictures show the spillway at Lake Moondarra. When the spillway flows over, barramundi can escape to Lake Julius. Barramundi have already been captured in Lake Julius by local fishermen, and must have come from Lake Moondarra.
The possibility of constructing a barrier net before the spillway (as is used at Lake Tinaroo) has been discussed. However, this has been found to be unfeasible due to construction and maintenance costs, as well as the fact that Lake Moondarra overflows only every five years.The DPI has also suggested that at each overflow event, less than 20% of the mature Barramundi would escape from the Lake and travel down river to Lake Julius.
The East Leichhardt dam is also being targeted for stocking with barramundi. This lake overflows quite easily each year and would also add to the numbers of fish in Lake Julius.
The escaping fish from Lake Moondarra and East Leichhardt Dam not only stock Lake Julius but also eventually make their way to the Gulf of Carpentaria. The MIFSG is also promoting the tagging of fish caught and released so that the extent of the travels of the escaping Mount Isa Barramundi can be ascertained. See article on Fish Tagging.
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| Lake Moondarra Spillway | Behind the spillway wall |
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| Looking away from spillway wall | Towards bottom of spillway |
Our thanks to Alf Hogan & Malcolm Pearce from the DPI for providing the above photos.
Lake Moondarra | Lake Julius | East Leichhardt Dam | Lake Corella.