History of freshwater native fish aquaculture in Australia
Unlinked page - under construction
Freshwater Australian native fish commercial aquaculture
How it evolved ( Excluding barramundi, [Lates calcarifer] )
Aquaculture has been around in Australia for over 8,000 years
That's twice as long as China,
Before European settlement - Ancient and Early History, Archaeological evidence, including shell middens, shows that aquaculture was practiced across the continent, including in the Kimberley region (freshwater prawns) and throughout the Murray-Darling Basin.
Aboriginal Aquaculture (6,000+ years ago):
Indigenous Australians have long practiced aquaculture, most notably the Gunditjmara people at Budj Bim (Victoria), who created complex, 6,000-year-old volcanic rock channels and weirs to farm and trap short-finned eels.
Key Historical and Archaeological Evidence - Budj Bim Cultural Landscape (Victoria): Dated to at least 6,600 years ago, this is one of the world's oldest and most extensive aquaculture sites.
The Gunditjmara people engineered a complex system of canals, weirs, and dams across the lava flow to manage water levels and trap eels and fish.
Brewarrina Fish Traps (NSW): Known as Ngunnhu, these, alongside the Budj Bim structures, are some of the oldest, largest, and most enduring man-made structures in the world.
Brewarrina Fish Traps (NSW): Known as Ngunnhu, these, alongside the Budj Bim structures, are some of the oldest, largest, and most enduring man-made structures in the world.
My interest in fish started when I was a child.
Instead of going to school, I would end up in a creek looking at fish and hiding from my parents . . . and snakes.
One of the first books I read about Australian native fish lit the fire in me for native fish.
That book was "Freshwater Fishes & Rivers of Australia" by John S Lake
The book has the tell tail scars of "field use.
The next book that convinced me there is a future for me and aquaculture was "Australian Freshwater Fishes Biology and Management" by John R Merrickand Gunther E. Schmida
As you can see I have two copies.
One in mint conditions that will end up in a museum when kids will learn about books in history at school.
And, one that has plenty of "field use" scaring evidence, as well as a lot in notes that I added to pages as I worked with the fish.
These books and a few others convinced me there was a future in aquaculture, and perhaps I could join the "fish rush."
First commercial aquaculture pioneers
First aquaculture - Victoria 1870 - Commercial aquaculture of native freshwater species began in the 1970s?
First aquaculture - South Australia 1870s - Commercial aquaculture of native freshwater species began in the 1980s
First aquaculture - Queensland 1951 - Commercial aquaculture of native freshwater species began in the 1980s
First aquaculture - Northern terratory 1990s - Commercial aquaculture of native freshwater species in the 1990s
First aquaculture - Tasmania 1860s No commercial aquaculture of native freshwater species
Modern day commercial aquaculture (Australian native fish)
(Important to note that almost all the spawning and growing research on sliver perch also applies to jade perch.)
- Early 1800s: The species was formally recorded by Major Mitchell in 1832, who called it bidyan.
- Early 1900s: Silver perch were recognized as a potential candidate for aquaculture as early as 1916.
- 1915–17: NSW Fisheries transported juvenile silver perch from drying billabongs into Cataract Dam, creating a unique, self-sustaining population that still exists today.
- Mid-20th Century: They were historically significant in inland commercial fisheries. (Wild catch) However, the commercial fishery peaked in 1958-59 and then collapsed by 1984-85.
Since the 1980s state govermnebts have supported considerable research projects into Australian native freshwater fish and their aquaculture potential.
NSW Department of Primary Industries Aquaculture Research and Development (1965–1990s)
1965: NSW Fisheries began formal research on the species, with key breakthroughs occurring at the Narrandera Fisheries Research Station
1965: NSW Fisheries began formal research on the species, with key breakthroughs occurring at the Narrandera Fisheries Research Station
In the 1970s, hormone-induced breeding (HCG injections) was developed and made available to the industry in the early 1980s.
1990–1993: A major research project at the Eastern Freshwater Fish Research Hatchery (EFFRH) in Grafton and the Brackish Water Fish Culture Research Station (BWFCRS) at Salamander Bay developed successful techniques for commercial pond aquaculture, including nutrition, stocking densities, and handling.
1994: A major workshop was held at Grafton and Narrandera (proceedings published) which established silver perch as a premier species for intensive pond aquaculture, with high survival rates and a rapid, 18-month growth cycle to market size.
1990s-Present: Research has increasingly focused on improving pond aquaculture, with investigations into using cage culture, reducing feed costs, and improving growth rates in artificial environments.
Conservation and Ecological Research (2000s–Present) (Wild populations)
2001: Silver Perch were officially listed as a "vulnerable" species in New South Wales (and later in other jurisdictions) due to a drastic decline in natural populations, which dropped to low numbers or disappeared from most of their former range.
2000s-2010s: Research efforts shifted to understanding the reasons for their decline, focusing on habitat degradation, lack of water flow, and cold-water pollution from dams.
2005–2022: Standardized monitoring, particularly in the lower River Murray, has analysed the population dynamics, age structures, and impacts of flooding on recruitment.
Recent Years: Research has focused on rehabilitation projects, such as habitat restoration, reinstating woody "snags" in rivers, and restoring fish passages as well as looking into the impact of blackwater events.
Key Findings in Research
Breeding: They are highly fertile, but in the wild, they require specific environmental cues (high flow, warm water) for spawning.
Diet: They are omnivorous, eating insects, crustaceans, and vegetation.
Ageing: Research has shown that using otoliths (ear bones) provides a more accurate age, with some individuals found to be up to 27 years old, though recent populations show a lack of older fish.
Disease: Research has documented that while they can be susceptible to disease in poor water quality, the diseases are manageable in aquaculture.
1990s-Present: Research has increasingly focused on improving pond aquaculture, with investigations into using cage culture, reducing feed costs, and improving growth rates in artificial environments.
Conservation and Ecological Research (2000s–Present) (Wild populations)
2001: Silver Perch were officially listed as a "vulnerable" species in New South Wales (and later in other jurisdictions) due to a drastic decline in natural populations, which dropped to low numbers or disappeared from most of their former range.
2000s-2010s: Research efforts shifted to understanding the reasons for their decline, focusing on habitat degradation, lack of water flow, and cold-water pollution from dams.
2005–2022: Standardized monitoring, particularly in the lower River Murray, has analysed the population dynamics, age structures, and impacts of flooding on recruitment.
Recent Years: Research has focused on rehabilitation projects, such as habitat restoration, reinstating woody "snags" in rivers, and restoring fish passages as well as looking into the impact of blackwater events.
Key Findings in Research
Breeding: They are highly fertile, but in the wild, they require specific environmental cues (high flow, warm water) for spawning.
Diet: They are omnivorous, eating insects, crustaceans, and vegetation.
Ageing: Research has shown that using otoliths (ear bones) provides a more accurate age, with some individuals found to be up to 27 years old, though recent populations show a lack of older fish.
Disease: Research has documented that while they can be susceptible to disease in poor water quality, the diseases are manageable in aquaculture.
Dr Stuart Rowlandwas a scientist with NSW Fisheries for over 33 years commencing in 1978 and studied native fish in the Murray-Darling and Clarence river systems.
He developed hatchery techniques, described the biology of Murray Cod, identified, described and named Eastern Freshwater Cod and Mary River Cod, ran one of Australia’s first conservation projects, identified infectious diseases of native fish and developed farming techniques for Silver Perch.
He is the author of at least 167 scientific and technical papers, and has presented more than 130 official seminars and talks on aquaculture and fish biology through-out Australia and in Asia.
His latest book is about Australia's most famous freshwater fish, and one of the worlds, "mega fish," the Murray cod.
Victoria
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Brett Ingraham - Senior Scientist Fisheries management & Science - Victorian Fisheries Authority
Queensland
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TODAY
There are several freshwater species that have been grown commercially for the table.
Commercialisation
Aquaculture in Australia was valued at 2.31 billion in 2025.
Native freshwater fish constitute only a small portion of this value.
Silver perch market is, primarily driven by a high-value live fish trade in Asian communities for 500–800g fish.
The market for whole chilled fish is primarily the Sydney Fish Markets where is is sold weekly at a Dutch Auction
For interest the Sydney Fish Market Dutch auction sells approximately 20 tonnes of fresh seafood are sold every hour.
That's 50-55 tonnes every day!
Over recent years this has become a popular market for some growers of native freshwater fish, especially as the price per kilo for silver perch has been increasing.
The main markets are live fish for restaurants, in Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane.
Generally the market has experienced consistent demand for live, high-quality white-fleshed fish, alongside strong culinary reputation and high (40%) meat recovery.
Jade perch are almost exclusively sold live to distributers who supply restaurants in Brisbane and Sydney.
The main markets are live fish for restaurants, in Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane.
Generally the market has experienced consistent demand for live, high-quality white-fleshed fish, alongside strong culinary reputation and high (40%) meat recovery.
Jade perch are almost exclusively sold live to distributers who supply restaurants in Brisbane and Sydney.
Sliver perch and jade perch price per kilo
NSW
Silver perch
Average price ($/kg) 1005-6 2006-7 $8.37 $8.81 2007-8 $9.20
Queensland
silver perch
2019-20 $14.26/kg
2022 price was $17.79/kg and increased in 2023 to $20.52/kg
Jade perch
2002-3 $7.19 ($/kg)
2003-4 $7.69 ($/kg)
2004-5 $8.42 ($/kg)
2019-20 $13.74 ($/kg)
2023-24 $18.87/kg ($/kg)
Murray cod
Farm-gate prices for live fish are around $20/kg,
Retail prices around $40 per kg. click here for more on retail
Here we are today
However the market has never grown to its real potential in Australia.
Personally I put this directly down to "RED TAPE."
It is just too hard to get approvals for aquaculture in Australia.
Application fees are excessive, conditions are unreasonable.
In Queensland the application process is through local councils.
(For example, my local council charge a fee of $12,000 to make an application, that might not be successful.)
There is a significant lack of expertise in local councils therefore the process is unnecessarily clumsy and time consuming adding to the cost and time delays for applicants.
This is not the local councils fault, it is a floor in the process.
The appropriate government authority that manages aquaculture should be the lead agency with regard to all the aquaculture related components of the application.
The local council should be limited to their areas of expertise, such as building and property access.
here is example of the problem of unqualified government departments handling an aquaculture application -
While sitting around a table with government and council staff, in reponse to a question the answer from a member of a government department was, "You can't do that, it's illegal."
Some invertors would probably shake hands and leave with a, "Thank you for your time today." and leave.
Then invest his money in an appartment building.
After some time the following ststement was made, "Yes you can do that but you must have a permit."
Not an encouraging way to talk to an investor.
The andwer to the question should have been. "No problem Mr invester. I will help you with the application for your permit to do that."
The same invertor was also told his driveway entrance had to be a certain width to accommodate B-doubles.
A B-double would never enter his facility.
How did it work in the past ?
Aquaculture was a right of use for rural land.
This meant the local council was not involved in the "aquaculture" side of an application.
All aquaculture related approvals went through the state government department that handled "aquaculture" related issues, regulations, requirements. Local council provided approvals for buildings etc.
This is how it evolved of the years.
In 1988 when I made my application, I was granted a one year "permit."
In the mid 90's a fifteen year aquaculture licence was introduced.
Mine was converted from a one year permit to a fifteen year licence on July 1st 1996
Then the aquaculture development approval was introduced which replaced the fifteen year licence with a development approval for aquaculture which did not have an end date.
This happened around 2010.
Mine was on the 23 of February 2011.
These changes came about so investors in aquaculture had longer security over their investment.
A one year permit was clearly not going to encourage investment.
Bank managers were unable to grant loans on a business that only had government permission to carry on its business activities for only a year.
Changing to a 15 year licence was better, but long term loans were still an issue for lenders.
The development approval, (DA) is perfect, it's just the process.
The regulations are not the main issue, its the application process and the cost of making an application.
MARKET VALUE OF MAIN SPECIES
Silver perch and jade perch price per kilo
NSW
Silver perch
Average price ($/kg) 1005-6 2006-7 $8.37 $8.81 2007-8 $9.20
Queensland
silver perch
2019-20 $14.26/kg
2022 price was $17.79/kg and increased in 2023 to $20.52/kg
Jade perch
2002-3 $7.19 ($/kg)
2003-4 $7.69 ($/kg)
2004-5 $8.42 ($/kg)
2019-20 $13.74 ($/kg)
2023-24 $18.87/kg ($/kg)
Murray cod
Farm-gate prices for live fish start at about $20 per kg.
Larger fish, 2 to 3 kilo achieve the best prices.
SPECIES HISTORY (Freshwater only)
Jade perch first collected. winter 1988 article published in Modern Fishing Dec 1988 issue by Warren Steptoe. "I'm guessing we went out to the Barcoo in May that year."
Click the picture for video - Low altitude passes over Barcoo River - with surprise ending
