35,000 native fish released into dam as fair game for anglers in conservation effort

There are 35,000 reasons for keen fishers to head to the anglers’ haven of Brogo Dam, nestled in the rugged mountain ranges on the NSW far south.

The dam has become home to 15,000 more Australian bass and 20,000 estuary perch under a stocking program organised by those who fish its waters.

Numbers of the slow-growing bass, native to the east coast of Australia, have declined due to habitat loss and overfishing.

“Australian bass [were previously] endangered for many years,” Far South Coast Stocking Association president Darren Redman said.

“They’re losing their environment, their waterways have been impacted by ‘man’, and pesticides have all contributed to the demise of Australian bass.”

Mr Redman said while humans might have contributed to the problem, it was humans who were revitalising numbers.

He noticed bass numbers depleting 30 years ago and vowed to do something about it not only to boost numbers for fishers, but to improve the health of the dam.

“That’s why we’re stocking it. They also filtrate over to the Bega Dam and naturally repopulate those rivers,” Mr Redman said.

Narooma Aquaculture’s Bruce Lawson had the delicate job of breeding thousands of fish and transporting them to Brogo Dam.

“Firstly, we need to get the brood stock, and breed the fish, and harvest the ponds then come on down,” Mr Lawson said.

“Brood stock” is a term used in aquaculture as fish bred in a tank.

“A hell of a lot of work, lots of hours go into the bass release,” Mr Lawson said.

Mr Redman and his wife, Jan, have raised thousands of dollars to buy juvenile fish by running camping and fishing weekends at Brogo Dam.

In 2023 they raised $5,000.

Brogo Dam has been stocked with new Australian bass annually since 2010, with a total of 187,285 bass put into the dam over the past 13 years.

“The survival rate is up in the 90 per cent mark,” Mr Redman said.

“The fish in the dam are very healthy.”

NSW Department of Primary Industries usually help the Far South Coast Stocking Association where they match fundraising efforts in a two-dollar-for-dollar native fish stocking program.

Ethics of catching fish

Mr Redman said some people questioned the ethics of releasing fish into Brogo Dam for them to then be caught by anglers.

“But it’s been human nature forever to live off the land so to speak … you’re quite welcome to take a fish home to eat,” he said.

“It is replenishing the environment.”

Mr Redman said it was a special day to release native flora and fauna back into the environment.

“It’s an achievement to all the people who have come and contributed money-wise and time-wise to get the stocks up and running in the dam,” he said.