Fish funding aim to learn more about Murray cod

Examining Murray cod. Credit: Victorian Fisheries Authority

The Victorian Fisheries Authority (VFA) is funding a new research project aimed at learning more about the movement and habitat preferences of Murray cod in the Goulburn River Arm of Lake Eildon. Thanks to the stocking of nearly 3 million cod fingerlings over the past 30 years by the VFA, Lake Eildon is now home to one of Australia’s best Murray cod fisheries. The findings of the study will help scientists understand how fish move and interact in the lake and up the Goulburn River. 

The $96,000 project will involve tagging 20 Murray cod in the Goulburn River Arm of the lake during summer 2021–22. To detect the whereabouts of those fish once tagged, scientists will deploy 20 listening stations strategically positioned from the mouth of the Goulburn River Arm to Jamieson and beyond. As tagged cod move, their acoustic tags will emit a ping that can be detected by a nearby submerged listening station. At that moment, information about the tagged cod’s position, depth and water temperature will be transmitted. Some tags will even provide information on that fish’s activity and energy use. 

Fishers will participate in the project by helping catch cod for tagging and then release and some will assist in monitoring their movement. The 2-year project is a great example of applied research to unlock secrets of Murray cod, their habitats, and their movements. 

Murray cod season in Victoria opened on Wednesday 1 December 2021.