There have been few studies which have described the movement of Mulloway within Australian estuaries. To better manage, and understand the behaviour of the important recreational species, the Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) recently funded a tagging program within the Glenelg River.
Scientists from the Arthur Rylah Institute have recently completed phase one of the project, with acoustic tags having been surgically implanted into 30 Mulloway captured from the system. These fish will be tracked over the following 1000 days, using 20 stationary VR2 listening stations located throughout the estuary. This data will subsequently be investigated for patterns of movement related to dissolved oxygen, salinity, temperature, and flow within the system.
Phase two of the project will involve the team value adding, with further Mulloway, Estuary perch and Bream, proposed to be tagged using externally individually numbered dart tags. The information gained using this technique, will provide further vital information as to growth, movement, and behaviour of these species.
What you can do if you capture a tagged fish
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