Fishy tale of two parts

FOR the health of Victoria’s second longest river, the story of last October’s flood emergency is a tale of two parts.

The mid-Loddon River from Laanecoorie to Loddon Weir is benefiting from the increased flows, which increase productivity of the river and food for fish and waterbirds.

The lower Loddon is a different story.

North Central Catchment Management Authority Project Officer Will Honybun said both outcomes were no surprise.

“When we experience flooding on the scale of 2022, we often see parts of the river benefit and other parts become stressed,” he said.

“The mid-Loddon River is still mostly confined to the channel, which means any poor-quality water has drained away quickly, allowing nutrients and organic matter washed into the main river stem to stimulate the food web.

“The sections of the river that span out over the landscape pick up a lot of extra nutrients, which are slow to move away. This poses a threat to water quality and native fish and fauna.

“All the indicators are showing fish populations in the lower section of the Loddon are in recovery mode, while in the upper Loddon River fish numbers have been bolstered. That’s also the message we’re getting from central Victorian anglers.”

Bendigo’s Kevin Ferguson is an avid Loddon angler and administrator of the Fishing Central Victoria Facebook group.

He has fished the Loddon for years and has noticed a big change in the past 12 months while fishing the river from Laanecoorie to Serpentine.

“Everyone knows fishing can be a struggle at times, but the recent trend in the Loddon River seems to have changed,” he said.

“I fish a fair stretch of the Loddon targeting mainly Murray cod and golden perch, anywhere between Laanecoorie Weir all the way through Serpentine to the Loddon Weir, including some prime spots between Newbridge and Bridgewater.

“I do a fair amount of walking the banks and kayaking and fishing feels to be better than ever.

“I’ve been surprised how well the river above Loddon Weir has recovered from the floods. It is looking really healthy in those stretches.

“The water is clearing up well, you can see the vegetation is thriving again, and there’s plenty of healthy water for the native animals.

“Many of the members of our Facebook page fish the Loddon River and we’re noticing a lot more success in numbers of native fish.”

Mr Honybun said it’s important the good conditions in the mid-Loddon are maintained. “We’re fortunate to be able to deliver water for the environment freshening flows during summer to maintain water quality and keep the ecosystem working well,” he said.

“In the lower sections, those flows over late summer and early autumn are all about recovery. We’ll deliver flows that inundate fish habitat and trigger native fish to move back into the better reaches to kickstart their recovery.

“These flows also give native fish an advantage over carp so in the long term we see the balance sway back the way we want it.

“And in the longer term, water for the environment can help keep the river healthy in drier times until the next flood comes along.”

Local firm on flood restoration panel

A LODDON company is among 16 firms appointed to Loddon Shire Council’s flood restoration works panel.

Pyramid Hill’s Corian Park Earthmoving was on Tuesday appointed to the panel by councillors on the recommendation of operations director Steven Phillips.

Mr Phillips said: “A panel of contractors will provide council with an efficient and flexible way to engage the necessary contractor workforce to carry out the restoration projects.

“The numerous works will be packaged into groups or packets of similar jobs based on either location or type.

“Each packet will be of a varying value that will not exceed $750,000. The average value of a packet of work is expected to exceed the current chief executive officers’ financial delegation ($300,000) for purchasing goods and services.

“To avoid the potential time for each packet that exceeds the chief executive officer’s financial delegation, specific authorisation relating to this contract is being sought.

“This will enable greater administrative efficiency in executing purchasing in relation to the delivery of this time dependent program.”

Councillors agreed to increase the delegation to $750,000 for flood restoration works.

Other companies appointed to the panel are mostly based in regional Victoria and will undertake work that could include repairs to 117 culverts, 56 floodways, resheeting 273km of gravel road, replacing should on 50km of unsealed road shoulders and rebuilding 14.25km of sealed road.

Council last month told the Loddon Herald that assessment of damage from October’s flood emergency was 95 per cent complete.

The repair bill has been put at more than $60 million.

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