Hunter River erosion project creating ‘fish hotels’

Original story at ABC News

The Department of Primary Industries says the fifth stage of a project to stop erosion in the Hunter River is now complete.

With funding from the State and Commonwealth Governments, the Hunter Central Rivers Catchment Management Authority has strategically placed more than 140 logs in the river near Muswellbrook.

The logs help stop erosion and provide native fish with shelter, a place to hide from predators and somewhere to breed.

Senior Fisheries Conservation Officer Kylie Russell says the log structures are known as ‘fish hotels’.

“They’re essentially like a big constructed pile of logs, a bit like how you use to put matchsticks or paddlepop sticks together,” she said.

“They’re bolted together and then put into the river.

“They do a number of different jobs – the main thing is to actually protect the bank from erosion but along they way they also provide really good fish habitat for the native fish.”

Ms Russell says the project has been underway for five years and will continue if federal and state funding is available.

She says the logs are taking the place of trees that were removed many years ago.

“And really, in hindsight, that was a fairly poor decision so we really need to try and put that vegetation back in to help stop the erosion,” she said.

“Of course those trees would have fallen in and created these kind of log structures naturally, and so we are really just trying to help replaced what’s been lost naturally.”