To support continued recreational fishing, the State Government in association with the Lake George Management Committee and RecFish SA, will translocate juvenile Yelloweye Mullet from coastal areas to aid viability of Lake George’s population.
The decision to replenish the stock in Lake George by translocation is due to the ongoing disconnection of the Lake from the sea. The fish translocation will be led by scientists from PIRSA’s South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI) this week.
Surveys of fish stocks conducted by SARDI in Lake George indicate that Yelloweye Mullet do not reproduce within the lake and there has been no replenishment of Yelloweye Mullet through immigration into the Lake since 2017, the last time the lake was connected to seawater.
It has been anticipated that without the reconnection to the sea, Yelloweye Mullet stocks would decline to low levels. Current environmental forecasts indicate that any lake to sea connection is unlikely to occur for some time yet.
The SARDI research team is capturing juvenile Yelloweye Mullet from Blackford Drain outlet and if needed, other sites in the area. The captured fish will then be transported and stocked in Lake George.