River Fishery

The River Fishery operates within the River Murray and its backwaters between the town of Wellington and the Victorian border. The River Murray is the major river system of Australia’s largest freshwater catchment in Australia, the Murray–Darling Basin, and is fed by the Darling, Lachlan and Murrumbidgee Rivers. The River Murray begins in the Australian Alps in eastern Victoria and flows northwestward, forming the border of Victoria and New South Wales until reaching South Australia and emptying into the Indian Ocean via the Lower Lakes and Coorong region.

Historically, the River Fishery has been based on the taking of Murray cod (Maccullochella peelii peelii) and golden perch (Macquaria ambigua).  The fishery underwent a major restructure in July 2003, and Murray cod and golden perch were removed from the list of permitted species within the fishery. Today there are a total of six licence holders that operate within the fishery, which is based predominantly on the taking of non-native fish, including European carp (Cyprinus carpio) and redfin perch (Perca fluviatilis).