What did we do and
what did we find?
Tocumwal Creel Survey
Creel surveys are simply angler interviews asking people about their fishing catch.
The term 'creel' comes from the wicker baskets used by anglers.
What is a creel survey?
Angler catches are recorded, including fish caught, kept and released.
Data are also collected on the fish lengths, the hours fished, and the general fishing experience.
These data are supplemented by counting the total number of anglers on the shore, or using boats, on survey days.
What info is collected?
A creel survey was undertaken on 50 km of the Murray River near Tocumwal, NSW.
The study site included 25km upstream and 25 km downstream of the bridge.
The waters upstream are with in the seasonal trout cod spawning closure which prohibits fishing from September 1st to November 30th each year.
The survey consisted of counting and interviewing fishers on a sub-sample of randomly selected days over the summer of 2018/2019.
Tocumwal creel survey
Fishing effort was recorded along the river over 12 days.
Around 500 anglers were interviewed.
Over 50% had caught fish, but <5% kept fish to eat.
Murray cod, Trout cod and Carp were caught most.
Statistics on angler effort, harvest and catch-and-release rates have been generated from the survey data.
Comparisons between areas inside and outside the seasonal closure showed no consistent differences.
More details are available in the full report on the Freshwater Recreational Fishing Research website.
Summary