G’day readers, Mount Isa Fish Stocking Group (MIFSG) are getting more involved with our community and want to give you more information on what we do and why we do it.
MIFSG is a community based group that has been running for over 20 years now. We stock Lake Moondarra, East Leichhardt Dam and Lake Julius under permit from the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries (DPI&F) The DPI&F work with MIFSG to develop a “Stocking Management Plan” to stock our local dams for the benefit of our community.
MIFSG are all volunteers that raise money through memberships, raffles, donations and government grants. Our Stocking Management Plan allows for 237,000 Barramundi and Sooty Grunter to be released into Lake Moondarra every year. MIFSG uses the money we get through fund raising to buy Barra from the Gulf Barramundi Restocking Association (GBRA) in Karumba. The GBRA produces “Gulf Strain” Barramundi which are the only type of Barra we can stock in Moondarra, Julius and East Leichhardt. There are over 15 different strains of Barra across northern Australia and the DPI&F restrict us to fingerlings spawned from Barra brood stock caught between the Norman and Albert rivers in the Gulf of Carpentaria.
MIFSG stock Sooty Grunter that we buy from commercial fish hatcheries in eastern Queensland. We also breed our own Sootys when possible. Our role as a stocking group is to primarily stock our local dams and promote the safe and sustainable use of our fishery. The local fishery needs to be developed to maintain a number of fish that makes it possible for anglers to have a catch rate of one fish per hour. This will make the fishing experience better for our community. Watch this space every Wednesday for stories relating to fishing and fish stocking.
George Fortune