Fisheries experts have worked with teams from Murrumbidgee Irrigation to successfully relocate hundreds of fish from a canal in Griffith to a new habitat.
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NSW Department of Primary Industries Acting Deputy Director General Patrick Tully said it was a successful operation. The fruitful mission saw teams relocate around 200 native fish including Bony Herring, Murray-Darling Rainbowfish and Australian Smelt.
"All species are relatively common across the Murray-Darling Basin and play an important role within the ecology of our rivers," Mr Tully said.
"The teams also found some turtles and yabbies. The relocation was carried out in accordance with specific protocols developed for this type of work and the fish were removed from the water using a backpack electrofisher and nets."
Murrumbidgee Irrigation CEO Brett Jones said a section of the Main Canal was drained down last week in preparation for an upgrade of the city's Leagues Club Regulator, as part of the Lake View Branch Canal expansion project.
"We saw this as great opportunity to work with the DPI Fisheries experts to ensure the fish were relocated and there was no impact on native species," Mr Jones said.