As a result, NSW DPI Fisheries has developed a state-wide trout strategy to determine how to best address challenges facing the fishery.
Trout fishery monitoring
A key component of the NSW trout strategy is improved monitoring of trout fisheries. This monitoring will answer questions like:
● What is the distribution, abundance and size of fish?
● Is stocking successful/ is there natural recruitment?
Stakeholder engagement
During the trout strategy workshops stakeholders were asked to indicate key streams for spawning, monitoring and habitat rehabilitation.
Stream monitoring sites
45 stream monitoring sites were identified across the state.
This includes 15 rivers split evenly between the North, Central and Southern NSW trout fisheries.
These sites will be sampled annually to provide data on the long term trends in the fishery
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Stakeholders engagement
During the trout strategy workshops stakeholders were asked to indicate key streams for spawning, monitoring and habitat rehabilitation.
Stream monitoring sites
Backpack electrofishing is widely used to monitor stream trout populations throughout the world.
Monitoring of the NSW trout populations has adopted international best practice and scientifically rigorous techniques which will allow comparison across years and to previous survey data from NSW streams.
Future monitoring
Stream monitoring forms just one component of how the status of the NSW trout fishery will be being monitored.
Other monitoring techniques already being developed or deployed include:
Angler surveys
Fish counters
Citizen science
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Summary
The NSW trout monitoring programs will allow managers to track how the fishery is going and where possible make improvements. However, trout populations vary widely and fluctuations in populations are normal in fish populations and trout are particularly good at responding to improvements in their environment.
Future monitoring
The data will also be reported in annual stream report cards which provide a snapshot on the health of the fishery each year and allow fishers to be better informed on the performance of their fishery across the state.