Endangered native fish will soon be able to swim back and forth from Keilor to Port Phillip Bay.
In what is believed to be a Victorian first, Melbourne Water is building three “fish ladders” that will help fish travel along the lower reaches of the Maribyrnong River.
Man-made fords, weirs and dam walls built along the river since European settlement have obstructed upstream migratory patterns for the eight species of native fish and eight species of exotic fish that can be found in the river.
Melbourne Waterwest regional services acting manager Tim Seipolt said providing unrestricted fish passage between McNabbs Weir in Keilor and the estuary in Port Phillip Bay was critical to preserving threatened native fish species such as the Australian grayling.
“We have several species of fish in the Maribyrnong that are in need of protection and we have an obligation to protect them under state and federal laws,” he said.
The fish ladders are designed to help fish navigate past man-made barriers so they can breed in Port Phillip Bay.
The fish ladder being built at Garden Avenue, Keilor, is made from precast concrete cones and allow fish to jump to a higher water level. The design was first trialled at Flaggy Creek in Queensland and was deemed successful enough to be rolled out across the country.
