Fishing Australia

The first of December saw the opening of the Murray cod season in NSW and the ACT. The three months prior to this is the closed season where cod are protected so that they can spawn in peace. It is illegal to target cod, even on a catch and release basis, or keep any incidentally caught cod during this time.

However not all anglers are aware of the closed season that just passed and some who should know better are making a joke of the laws: several anglers fishing in Lake Burley Griffin back in November bragged about catching and keeping 60 pound plus specimens for the table!

The fishing grapevine is a large and these along with similar incidences noted further afield have made many caring anglers furious!

Showing off a picture of a dead cod caught during the closed season is not only illegal, it is irresponsible, upsetting and worst of all an absolute catastrophe for the species and a disrespect for the waterways you wet a line on. It is pretty much as low and as shameful an act that an angler can carry out in this day and age.

Cod have been bred and stocked into lakes, but only for a 20 years or so now. It is the older naturally occurring specimens that have thousands of years of genetic adaption that are most in need of protection.

Big old local cod survive viruses, droughts and other problems better than stocked cod and their genetic strain is an huge asset to the local waterways. What they can’t survive is pollution, habitat degradation, poor water management and of course being hung up for the table!

This is why many anglers and scientists with an in depth knowledge of the species feel that there should be a maximum size limit to complement the minimum size limit which is currently 60 cm. This would make for what is known as a slot limit ie you can only keep a cod between 60 and say 100 centimeters.

This would need a significant awareness campaign to go with it, and if this doesn’t work perhaps they should be made a catch and release species ,if only to avoid any confusion and help weed out wrong-doers.

Every one knows Koalas are protected, yet cod get hammered by poachers who can brag about it and escape legal or moral punishment.

The Murray Darling Basin Native Fish Strategy and other programs are spending lots of money and time on fish ladders, habitat restoration, angler education and more. However while this is all a positive, some fishing regulations-especially those in regards to maximum size limits are lagging. Possession limits are also pretty poor for a species that is under such stress.

Studies have shown that native fish numbers in the murray darling basin are at 10% of pre European Settlement and the Murray cod is part of this grave statistic.

If the government is serious about their aim of restoring native fish populations to 60% of what was here prior to European settlement then the big naturally occurring breeding specimens need better protection.

Murray cod can live for at least 50 years and taking a 30 year old 60 pounder out of the system is virtually impossible to replace, and it will only get harder.

It is an unfortunate situation that people outnumber the big cod and the imbalance will continue to grow, so they need our help and nurturing until stocking is no longer required.

You can easily get a feed without taking a cod: in fact redfin are an introduced species that breed ravenously, taste great, and are better out of the system than in.

Introduced trout are stocked heavily in the nearby Snowy Mountains as a put and take species and are another good fish to target for the table, within reason of course.

Saltwater species like salmon are making a huge comeback and there is enough around to drive you mad!

Furthermore Golden perch are a good example of a local native freshwater species that in my opinion can be sustainably taken for the table due to their higher populations.

Any freshwater angler can with basic experience easily take a feed of the above species without breaking the bag limits and not be doing a bad thing!

The interesting thing is that cod sometimes take lures meant for golden perch, a species for which there is no closed season.

Anglers who make the small effort to read the rules and the modern ‘how to release fish successfully pamphlets’ readily available in any tackle shop can quickly and easily release the cod with no fuss.

Most anglers release cod, even during the open season, but being a species that is territorial they make an easy target for poachers looking for a quick buck or a cheap Christmas feast. This is all a bit much for sensible anglers to swallow.

See you on the water.

Rob Paxevanos