Go fish: State Member for Northern Victoria Jaclyn Symes and Victorian Fisheries Authority chief executive Travis Dowling watch as Archie Symes releases a Murray cod into the Arcadia hatchery’s fish-out pond.
A new visitor centre at the Arcadia Native Fish Hatchery boasts a vast “fish-out pond’ stocked with Murray cod and perch, as well as barbecue facilities, a playground and a covered exhibition space.
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State Member for Northern Victoria Jaclyn Symes recently opened the centre at 200 Ross Rd, Arcadia, along with members of angling clubs, fisheries staff, Yorta Yorta representatives and former State Member Suzanna Sheed, who joined in to mark the occasion.
Grand scale: Arcadia Native Fish Hatchery visitor centre’s grand opening on Friday, December 15.
Ms Symes, who holds the Attorney-General and Emergency Services portfolios in the Allan Government, brought her son Archie along to help release a few more cod into the pond.
The pond is available for fishers at all levels to try.
Opening hours of 5am to 10pm during daylight saving allow keen anglers to catch large cod and golden perch up to 3kg.
Apart from recently bred cod, larger fish rescued from the irrigation channels during winter work have also been added to the pond.
“Fishing is really important to communities here in the Goulburn Valley, so having a new tourist attraction that taps into that passion will make it a popular spot to wet a line – especially youngsters who have just scored a free Little Angler Kit through their school,” Ms Symes said.
Fish out of water: State Member for Northern Victoria Jaclyn Symes checks out the fish at the hatchery in Arcadia.
She added that construction is under way to triple the size of the Arcadia hatchery and enable it to produce up to six million fingerlings a year.
The extensive display inside the visitor centre explains the process of stimulating the breeding of native fish, capturing the eggs and raising the fingerlings to a point where they can be released.
