1. Introduction

The Native Fish Strategy (NFS) is a response to the key threats to native fish populations in the Murray-Darling Basin (MDB), which range from flow regulation, habitat degradation and lowered water quality, to man-made barriers to fish movement and the introduction of alien fish species. Under these threats native fish populations in the Basin’s rivers have declined to an estimated 10 per cent of pre-European levels.

The NFS is built around 13 objectives, outlined below. These have been condensed into six driving actions, designed to catalyse investment in the Strategy.

This document, the Native Fish Strategy Annual Implementation Report, details progress towards achieving the Strategy’s objectives. It begins with an overview of developments towards achieving each of the six driving actions and is completed by the five State and territory reports. In 2004–2005, the second year of implementation, the Strategy gained momentum and made significant progress, as summarised in Table 1.

Monitoring has shown response of Trout cod to resnagging on the Murray River

Photo: Jim Barrett

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The Native Fish Strategy has 13 objectives:

• repair and protect key components of aquatic and riparian habitats
• rehabilitate and protect the natural functioning of wetlands and floodplain habitats
• improve key aspects of water quality that affect native fish
• modify flow regulation practices
• provide adequate passage for native fish
• devise and implement recovery plans for threatened native fish species
• create and implement management plans for other native fish species and communities
• control and manage alien fish species
• protect native fish from threats of disease and parasites
• manage fisheries in a sustainable manner
  protect native fish from the adverse effects of translocation and stocking
• ensure native fish populations are not threatened from aquaculture
• ensure community and partner ownership and support for native fish management.

and six driving actions:

• rehabilitating fish habitat
• protecting fish habitat
• managing riverine structures
• controlling alien fish species
• protecting threatened fish species
• managing fish translocation and stocking.