would a mondy fish breed in salt

[robersl]

Hi all
I was asked the question on another forum i use in the n/t i put up a photo of a couple of the barra we caught on the muster 102cm and 110cm that pete caught the question asked of me was would a mondy110cm barra breed if it was transpotered to the salt safely and released ,
I think they would in time as they would change sex in the salt but i do not know if there is a size or age at which the would not change sex therefore not breed or if the got over a certain size in the fresh would not change sex in the salt think a lot of fish tend to move downstream at certain times of year to the dam wall looking to go out to sea and breed any thoughts

shane

[BR65]

Reckon they would mate.
Doesnt the signage on the ski jump in the basin state the big girls will either be purged and delivered live to Meals On Wheels, or a percentage released in the Kolan below the wall.

[leelee]

I would say yes they could breed providing that they have not become sterile or have had any other reproduction issues that could be attributed to being constantly in an impoundment for many years.

Cheers

Lee

[robersl]

i would think so as well but would be an interesting experiment brian i have not had a good look at the signage on the cage

shane

[BR65]

Watch the spider webs on the slide doors mate!
The signage asks for only healthy fish over 100cm to be put in the cage.
It will be extremly interesting to watch the development of the whole concept, with the up coming migration of fish to the basin, and the resultant influx of basin trollers.
I hope we dont see a cage with dead fish in it due to lack of care by people thinking they are doing the "right" thing. It shouldnt be to big an issue though, based on the number of people I meet who tell me how all big fish should be removed because they eat all the fingerlings, to which I reply its a long way to travel to catch a fingerling!
Sorry, off thread, and got the pouts, so felt like venting!

[NAGG]

I'm pretty certain that any fish that get out of an impoundment would breed ...... There might be some time in readjustment ( learning how to actually hunt / ambush a feed rather than just going to their usual smörgåsbord:P ) ......... maybe a season or 2 later ...... sure .

Just a personal thing ......... but if the cage was used to repopulate the kolan _ I reckon it might be a worthwhile project.

Cheers

Chris

[setthehook]

I always check that cage, never seen a fish in it.....

[goddy100]

They certainly will, barra tend to change to female around the 75-85 cm mark, but some will not change to over a metre, some will not change at all. Most barra , about 75%, are female by the time they hit the metre mark. Barra can even row up in fresh water (that includes dams) and spending any long length of time in the fresh will not affect them at all. I have seen barra up to 115cm 150kms inland in naturally occuring streams that would not have seen the salt since birth.
Also as barra get bigger they produce more eggs, unlike some fish which produce larger eggs. A barra at 120cm can produce up to 50 thousand eggs each spawning for a season. So yes they can repopulate.
So why don't we release more into the wild?
A lot of this has to do with how the barras are bred. Coming form hatcheries that tend to covet good breeding females, there is the fear of reducing the natural diversity of a system by flooding it with stock from a limited number of parents. It is recommended that fresh stock is bought in yearly (mainly small males) and that you do not breed from artifical stock, that is fresh breeders must come from the wild, not a stocked impoundment.
Al least, that is what I remember without refering to some notes.

Goddy

[robersl]

Hey brian feel free to vent mate

shane

[rhycebullimore]

currently...and as yet more research is needed but it is becoming apparent that fish from dams/weirs etc are not reaching sexual maturity, ie not developing properly even tho they are 120cm and have been living in slat for x amount of time. In some cases there have been an occasional fish that has rowed up but will still not drop eggs ( due to male infertility ) ? it is still an open issue that no one really has the answers on.

rhyce

[nipsta]

I'm pretty certain that any fish that get out of an impoundment would breed ...... There might be some time in readjustment ( learning how to actually hunt / ambush a feed rather than just going to their usual smörgåsbord:P ) ......... maybe a season or 2 later ...... sure .

Just a personal thing ......... but if the cage was used to repopulate the kolan _ I reckon it might be a worthwhile project.

Cheers

Chris
i agree on that oone if they where only gunner put them in the kolan i would be in that

[robersl]

i agree on that oone if they where only gunner put them in the kolan i would be in that
you would not mind if that happened to them get some more back in the wild in the area to build up the stocks then at least we are putting back to the industry instead of taking out of it all the time even though we pay sips towards the fingerings this way we could fish the dams an repopulate the river systems and maybe have a ban n catching them in the river for so many years to help them populate to a sustainable level or even have a rellease of fingerlings into the system to re populate the river ect but on the other hand you might have the netters sitting and waiting for them

only a thought
shane

[Big_Ren]

Reckon they would mate.
Doesnt the signage on the ski jump in the basin state the big girls will either be purged and delivered live to Meals On Wheels, or a percentage released in the Kolan below the wall.


Agree with most. Yep I reckon they would do what comes naturally over time. As for that cage....maybe it should be named The Colon.....just a sh*t pipe at the end of the day.

On the subject of roe'ing up, does anyone think that impoundment barra actually roe up. I would not be surprised, even though they need salt water to spawn. I have never cut one open to find out obviously...interesting topic.

So in line with this train of thinking are these metries in our impoundments male or females that cannot breed??????

Cheers
Paul

[goddy100]

DPI have told me they row up, but unless they reach the salt they just reabsorb the eggs. Also the males don't seem to milt at all in the fresh.

Goddy

[A_DIFF_PERSPECTIVE]

Big Ren, (Paul)
They can roe up, yes, then reabsorb. I have been sent a pic in the past of an Awoonga fish in roe.
Johnny

[Big_Ren]

Thanks Goddy, JM

It has been a topic of interest for a few of us for some time. Trev always refers to them as ladies...I was never so sure.

Cheers
Paul