WA rivers cleanup

I'm emigrating to Aus in January and was getting excited to stroll along some river banks in search of some big new species which I've never had the pleasure of catching before. Whilst doing some research into freshwater species and which river systems they inhabit I came across an article which said that due to modern agricultural practices, (fertilizers, pesticides etc.) mixed with sandy soil with high drainage properties, the rivers have become poluted and there are no longer fish in them!

Is this true? If it is, then I'll be up for getting a team together to liase with farmers and local government and see if we can't get the rivers cleaned up and back to how they were. I personally love all types of fishing, but for me rivers are the best as they are constantly changing and offer the greatest challenge. I was devestated to see that the rivers are in such a bad state. Surely there must be some environmental grants that can be tapped into.

Does anyone know of any organisation that is already involved in or has an intention to get ther rivers cleaned up?


troy fuller's picture

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 It is In a bad state but

Tue, 2013-10-29 17:28

 It is In a bad state but plenty of fish

the river isn't that bad

Wilmy's picture

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Any worth catching?

Tue, 2013-10-29 17:51

What's in there? Anything worth catching?

sarcasm0's picture

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Ok what/where was the article?

Tue, 2013-10-29 18:08

Dont believe everything you read, especially from the other side of the planet.  Where will you be moving too and maybe we can comment? Most of the users on this website are based in Perth, Western Australia and the main rivers in town are the swan and canning systems which do have issues with runoff, development and fertilizers.  However the system has been estuarine since C.Y O'Connor blew the land bridge at the river mouth during construction of Fremantle Port around the early 1900's.

The Swan and Canning both fish well for Black Bream, Flathead, Tailor, Whiting, Mulloway, Crabs and Prawns at the right time of the year.  In South Western Australia there are many river systems, most fresh heading to estuarine as they get to the coast.  This means they fish for freshwater species up river like Trout and Redfin Perch and shift to estuarine species like Bream, Flathead etc as they get closer to the ocean.

The state of the rivers fresh and estuarine is a concern, but for the last few years it hasnt been the runoff or fertilizer, its been the bloody lack of rain meaning low water levels. This year has seen a decent fall of rain and some of the South West dams overflowing for the first time in years and some of the rivers broke their banks.

Dont believe the hype! There is still good fishing to be had!

Bryan

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I'll be flying into Perth

Tue, 2013-10-29 18:52

I'll be flying into Perth with my family on January 20th from South Africa where I've been living for the past decade. I'm from England and used to fish the rivers there fanatically.

That's good news sarcasm0 (it's about time real names were used on forums ;) ) I see that WA governemnt has a Swan River Trust and River Guardians organisation http://www.riverguardians.com/ who are keeping an eye on both the Swan and Canning rivers. I'll be keen to get into some new species in the estuarine section as well as some redfin too, which from what I can gather are considered a pest and have to be removed when caught?

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actually this not the case any more..

Wed, 2013-10-30 08:45

 http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-26/swan-river-trust-goes/4982538

Pete D's picture

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We have one of the best

Wed, 2013-10-30 09:42

We have one of the best rivers in the world that runs through a major capital city – The Swan; but yes it has been abused over the years and requires a lot of work to make it better.

The lower reaches of the Swan do however hold abundant life.  Here’s a vid I did a few years ago, which was taken near Blackwall Reach.  The river gets down to about 22m in this area aswell.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=undThqnQPWo

You arrive just in time for Australia Day on 26th Jan.  Enjoy the fireworks around the Swan River foreshore.

Cheers Pete

dumper's picture

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Something smells a bit fishy

Wed, 2013-10-30 09:47

Something smells a bit fishy here. As much as I care about the state of the river systems, I'm a little sceptical when an international organisation starts interfering in local issues, ie pew. The Swan river trust hasn't been disbanded, its just been amalgamated with dec, giving it more resources to work with. 

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Thanks for the feedback guys,

Thu, 2013-10-31 15:55

Thanks for the feedback guys, it's great to hear that the rivers are not as bad as I thought (phew). I'll be there on the 20th, my tackle will follow shortly afterwards.

I'm really looking forward to getting into some of the monsters you have there, any volunteers to show me the ropes?

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I'll probably get slammed for

Fri, 2013-11-01 13:16

I'll probably get slammed for this but anyway...a Pommy South African read something on the net about the swan river and is all of a sudden a full bottle and is going to fix it all by talking to farmers and government departments!! Give me a break!! Sorry mate but as a farmer you would be the last person I would have anything to do with on the issue - and btw what you read is a load of crock!! Thankfully you have already been given some more accurate info but perhaps maybe get some runs on the board by living here for a few years before trying to fix our "problems". JMO

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Sorry mate, I wasn't looking

Fri, 2013-11-01 15:51

Sorry mate, I wasn't looking for trouble :) your opinion is valid and I respect it fully. I'm passionate about river fishing, I just love it! When I read on an Aussie website that the rivers were in such a mess I truly was devastated. I'm equally pleased to hear that it is a load of crock and that I found you guys. As for being a Pommy South African.... come on give me a break - I may have lived in SA for a decade, but I'm not the slightest bit South African, well other than a strange twang to my Pome accent that is!

I wasn't looking to fix your problems, I was looking to fix mine - I want to catch fish in the rivers and if they're devoid of freshwater fish, then I will do everything within my limited power to change that.

I COME IN PEACE :)

tailor marc's picture

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Definatly one the the

Fri, 2013-11-01 13:25

Definatly one the the cleanest in the world. Arnt to mant rivers that hold dolphins, sea horses etc. My fav locations around freshwater bay. Massive bream, mulloway, blue manna crabs, tailor , flatheads etc!

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Wilmy's picture

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Some, really nice photos

Fri, 2013-11-01 15:54

Some, really nice photos there mate.

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Cheers mate :)

Fri, 2013-11-01 16:20

Cheers mate :)

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crasny1's picture

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If there was a mayor problem

Fri, 2013-11-01 15:57

dont you think that we local fisho's would have already done the cleanup attempt. There is DEC managing the rivers but runoff has and still is an issue.

I am sure (hope so) that "If it is, then I'll be up for getting a team together to liase with farmers and local government and see if we can't get the rivers cleaned up and back to how they were" was not meant that you would do this. That would be like telling us to suck eggs, and Ozzies dont like that.

On here you would find some of the cleanest semi-green fishers that try and protect what we cherish, and work is constantly underway to try and minimize pollution etc.

Australia is huge, and relatively few rivers for the land areas covered, so lots off farm runoff end in few rivers.

However the rivers in the SW are mostly in great nic due to conservation efforts by fishing loving people and dont need foreigners like PEW telling us what to do. (And I sure do wish you arent trying to tell us aswell)

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Wilmy's picture

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"On here you would find some

Fri, 2013-11-01 16:12

"On here you would find some of the cleanest semi-green fishers that try and protect what we cherish" I'm one of them too :)

I'm sorry if I've offended anyone here, it wasn't my intention - I guess I'm the one who needs to be taught how to suck eggs.

"work is constantly underway to try and minimize pollution etc." great news :)

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you may just hate it here

Fri, 2013-11-01 17:18

you may just hate it here Wilmy-some poms with residency visas have flown in on friday and home on monday again cos they didnt like it!

We love our poluted rivers, over fished oceans and "too cold beer"!

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The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.

Everyone's just winging it.

 

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Haha, you won't get rid of me

Fri, 2013-11-01 17:21

Haha, you won't get rid of me that easily Rob ;)

Cold beer? What a strange thought!

sarcasm0's picture

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Wilmy

Fri, 2013-11-01 19:05

 Gday mate, dont take these crew to heart.   Australian Fisherpeople are just about fed up with people (govt, greenies, enviro groups etc) interfereing and telling us all how to go about our actions and lifestyles.  The govt was previously a Labor govt that had to shack up with the greens party to give a minority govt the ability to make legislation. Unfortunately this led to being forced to make decisions about the Australian environment, fishing, business, resource etc from a green background which led to a raft of green legislation that the current liberal govt got in by promising to repeal.  The decisions of the previous fed govt included the introduction of the worlds largest network of marine reserves in Australia (over 50% of the worlds marine parks in one country) when we already have the tightest rec and commercial fishing controls in the whole world.  We never have had a species go extinct from fishing here, ever.  We have licence fees, bag limits, possession limits, area closures, seasonal bans etc coupled with car and boat rego fees yet all this was still forced down peoples throats based on dubious science funded by overseas green groups with a vested interest.

People say all sorts of crap about things the world over, all you can do is come and see it for yourself, read as much and widely as you can and formulate your own opinion.  When I first replied I had to really bite the urge to reply like Howa Hunter but thought I would give you the benefit of the doubt.  As others have said the river is in pretty good state, sure there are issues but the wildlife is there.  I used to enjoy going diving with others in the river who claimed it was boring or a wasteland but the whole place is teeming with life if you slow down and look.  

I cannot think of another capital city in the world where you can catch crabs, mulloway, tailor, bream, flathead or similar species right on the CBD. 

No egg sucking required, I like your thick skin, can see you have a sense of humour and are interested in catching fish, learning about the place where we(and you will) live and want to treat it with respect.  Im not so much of a shore based fisherman, nor do I have so many great spots that always catch fish, but I am definately up for showing you some of the local spots, drinking cold beer and hanging out with a fellow fisho.

P.S Nice Tiger Muskellenge? (I think?)

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Sarcasm0

Fri, 2013-11-01 19:21

 

Post of the year 

 Wilmy, welcome to the forum and good luck with the fishing etc when you get here, im sure you will love it!

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I'm sure I will too, thanks

Fri, 2013-11-01 19:41

I'm sure I will too, thanks :)

fishy fingers's picture

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that would be a pike

Fri, 2013-11-01 19:35

 not a Tiger Muskellenge unless I'm seeing wrong!

Wilmy's picture

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Thanks mate, it's not a

Fri, 2013-11-01 19:40

Thanks mate, it's not a Muskie, but a Pike which I caught in January whilst visiting family in England - it's my PB of 22lb. Pike are my favourite of all freshwater species, they take your bait with ferocity, run like steam trains, jump out of the water, tail walk, shake their heads aggresively and repeat that all the way to the net over and over.

It's good to see that there are controls and regulations in place, I've seen the rapid decline of fishing quality in my local waters in the past decade because of no control, the water here is polluted by mines and fish have been netted en-masse due to the most hectic poverty you'll ever see, it's scary stuff. I used to be able to take a short drive, now my nearest spot which is worth fishing at is over 100km away.

I've been doing quite a bit of reading up on fishing in WA, I can see an aweful lot on coastal and estuarine fishing, but not too much on fresh water, other than for trout down in the south. Are there decent freshwater fish further up river?

Wilmy's picture

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Here's a better picture of

Fri, 2013-11-01 19:53

Here's a better picture of her...

<img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7392/9438258670_395f342f90_o_d.jpg">

Hmm... that didn't work!

farm8.staticflickr.com/7392/9438258670_395f342f90_o_d.jpg Try this!

sarcasm0's picture

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Haha oh dear

Fri, 2013-11-01 19:57

 My bad, I was in Canada last year and thought it looked similar to the guide pic I saw, but still wasnt sure.

Dunno too much about fresh water fishing further up river than trout, theres not much further 'up' to go in a lot of places.. but yes redfin trout and I believe some types of grunter.  Up north the rivers run for miles inland with Barramundi, Grunter, Bull Sharks, Mud Geckoes etc... some fresh some salt.

The home for trout/freshwater fishing in Aus is in Tasmania with a fair bit done in the snowy/blue mountains.  WA has some rivers, I cant speak from experience apart from my missus outfishing me with a bit of cheese and catching a rainbow trout.

 

fishy fingers's picture

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your correct

Fri, 2013-11-01 19:58

 I can see an aweful lot on coastal and estuarine fishing, but not too much on fresh water, other than for trout down in the south. A

this is because we dont realy have a lot of fresh water!, look on google earth and you wont see many river systems of note once north of geraldton any rivers only run after heavy rain then dry up again  until you get right up into the kimberly 

a few down south but not many given the size of the state

Wilmy's picture

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Well, I guess my fishing is

Fri, 2013-11-01 20:06

Well, I guess my fishing is going to change somewhat then. Looking at the fish some of the guys are catching on here is enough to make me get out into the depths and oik out some monsters - those GT's look like they are up for a good scrap!

fishy fingers's picture

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well look at it this way

Fri, 2013-11-01 20:21

 you can fish the beaches most of the year without getting cold, or out on the ocean,  the sun will be shinning (most of the time) it dosent rain apart from a few weeks in winter (not alawys a good thing though) and you will probably catch fish....even if you dont catch who cares! it's the best place on earth to live, I've been here 27 years and wouldnt live anywhere else.

Wilmy's picture

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COOL :)Where were you 27

Fri, 2013-11-01 20:25

COOL :)

Where were you 27 years ago?

fishy fingers's picture

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lancashire

Fri, 2013-11-01 20:27

 ......yep I'm a pomme

Faulkner Family's picture

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gotta say , the rivers aren't

Fri, 2013-11-01 20:33

gotta say , the rivers aren't as clean as they were 20 odd years back but they are better than they were 10 years back. there are plenty of fish to be had in the river , from whiting right up to mullas or as the South Africans call them Cobb.
probably the most hunted fish would be the Black Bream. great fighters for their size but can be dirty fighters. flathead are also a popular species to chase. lure fishing has got some good results across the board as the blowies will destroy baits in no time.

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Wilmy's picture

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So, to conclude... my

Fri, 2013-11-01 20:48

So, to conclude... my unwelcome, overambitious attempts to clean up WA’s rivers has already been done for me.

Thank you to everyone involved, I look forward to fishing in your beautiful, fish packed waters and I promise to leave them in the same or better condition than when I found them :)