THE efforts of 548 recreational anglers who put hands in pockets to give gold coin donations to take part in the 2011 BCF Carp Blitz will this week make possible the stocking of more than 5000 Murray cod in Ben Chifley Dam.
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The youth of Bathurst and district who took part in the fifth blitz captured a tonne of feral European carp and redfin from the Macquarie River in early November and – with the support of sponsors such as Bathurst RSL Club and Tooheys – swelled the coffers of the Bathurst RSL Fishing Club’s Trust to restock native fish in local waterways.
Fishing club president Terry Jones said the ongoing restocking program – initiated years ago in collaboration with Bathurst City Council and, more recently, Bathurst Regional Council – will continue tomorrow.
“Our club has lost count of how many juvenile fish have been released into Chifley Dam over the years, but it runs into many hundreds of thousands of golden perch [yellowbelly], Murray cod and trout,” Mr Jones said.
“Money from the club trust fund is matched by the council and, in turn, receives a dollar-for-dollar subsidy from the NSW Fisheries Trust.
“This year both the council and fishing club will be contributing $1250 and Fisheries will give $2500 to purchase juvenile Murray cod from the Murray-Darling Hatchery.”
Mr Jones said Chifley Dam native fish numbers have been enhanced to such an extent that when the dam spills, some of the juvenile fish are carried over the wall into the Campbells River spillway hole and downstream to provide good sport for anglers.
“The first fish released into Chifley have grown to incredible sizes,” he said. “The Murray cod are now up to 60 pounds [27.2kgs] and yellowbelly up to 20 pounds [9.07kgs], with lots of fish at in-between weights, providing a major tourist attraction to Bathurst.
“Anglers are coming from all over to fish Chifley because of its clear, clean water and quality of table fish – including the voracious redfin, whose numbers are being kept in check by the growing native fish stock, conservatively valued at hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
The RSL Club and Tooheys contribute $1000 donations annually to the Fishing Club Trust Fund but it is gold coins donated at BCF Carp Blitz events that keep the trust fund on the right side of the ledger.