Two new tanks to add to the collection.

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It was a tight fit but after some wrangling and chopping of trees we squeezed them in.

I am hoping to use this boat to explore smaller rivers and stream which the big boat can’t do.

( rattus lutreolus )

Great to have them around, these are native rats and don’t pose the same risks as the common rat.

When we remove swampy areas, we do harm so we should both keep the swampy areas and put more back, swampy areas clean water and provide places for fish and other animals live.

I had a 15000 litre tank from Bushmans tanks arrive today , this tank will give me more fresh water for the blackfish , they do best in clean clear water.

It cost me another $2500 hundred dollars plus $450 for a pump plus fittings , Its a costly business saving fish .

On the 19th of march myself and thirty odd other people including my family attended the first release of river blackfish into a river system , this had never been done before , the fish were bred on a farm from brood stock .

At the farm there are four ponds these fish were the offspring of fish in no one pond the first pond constructed at the farm.

The site chosen for the release was a former prison farm next to where I grew up, the farm is now a school camp, inside the camp is a large pond that is connected to the Cooriemungle creek this creek then runs to the Scott creek and it drains into the Curdies river.

it is hoped that these fish will survive and breed and in time their young will help to repopulate the whole river system.

Yesterday I was pleased to have Dion Lervasi Tim Vincent and a friend come down to Cooriemungle prison farm camp to survey the pondage there , at least seven species were identified.

Gambusia.

Goldfish.

Redfin.

Tench

Pygmy Perch

Short finned eels.

Flathead gudgeon.

Congolli (Tupong)

We knew the eels, Redfin, Gambusia, Goldfish, and Pygmy Perch were there but the surprise was the Tupong, the Tupong looked in good condition and it was assumed the Blackfish to be released there soon would also do well.

We had to whinch the boat down a steep embankment and threw some silt that had built up and when they finished we had to whinch both the boat and boat trailer up the bank , Dion had a great workout on the whinch handle while the others pushed the boat and I operated the remote whinch controller.

It was a struggle to launch the boat steep banks and a silted up bottom made for some fun and I applaud Dion for his willingness to carry on, the dam water is low at the moment due to a dry spell here in the southwest.

The host Brent , Nicole and James were eager to see what lurked in the pond and were surprised to see the Tupong as were we. once again if you want to survey a waterway near you cannot go passed Dion at austral Research and Consulting his knowledge and expertise is the best and no obstacle seem to worry him.

I had a small part on the ABC news about the blackfish.

https://abcportal-my.sharepoint.com/:v:/g/personal/semken_vanessa_abc_net_au/ETW9gfjgmk9GrIwv0-5bc1kBG1nr0bCqTpBtPKOlGp9Usw

A date has been set for the release of river blackfish into a river system,

This has been many years in the making , I have had permits for more than ten years and the fish to be released are six years old so it has been quite a endeavor.

The fish will go into a pond that is part of the Cooriemungle creek in southwest Vic Aust , the creek has good flows during winter but struggles to hold water in the warmer months it dries back into pools, however the dam holds water all year round .

There are sixteen fish in this first release they vary in size from around 280mls to 380mls .

This is a first time this has happened with this fish , no one has bred them like this before and no one has got a permit to do this so this is historic and hopefully not the last.

It will be quite a process so on the 18 th of march I will start to empty the pond their in, this takes quite a while the ponds hold about 80 thousand litres of water, once that is done they will be tagged and then moved to the pond at Cooriemungle and released.

The hope is someone from a local UNI might join us and follow these fish for some years learning more about them to inform future Aquaculturist

so they can go on and breed this great fish and replenish the creeks and rivers where they once thrived.

My fish can go back in the water , their DNA checks out ok.

this is a first for this fish and I hope many more to follow

I was interviewed by Anthony from the Warrnambool Standard news paper the recently and i am quite pleased with the outcome , It is one more media outlet that I have had report on the the blackfish , i hope this helps people to realize that they need help.