26/06/2026
On Wednesday we had the pleasure of hosting Prof Kirsten Benkendorff, Dr Matt Landos and Dr Ben Diggles in Lake Macquarie, who taught us about impacts on water quality and how we can all get involved.
As Dr Ben put it "Much like the air that we breathe, clean water is the life sustaining ingredient that underpins the survival of fish and countless other species that comprise healthy aquatic ecosystems."
There are a wide range of factors that can ultimately lead to things like declining fish stocks, fish kills, black water events, and more. All these things can be prevented or fixed but first we need to determine the cause and come up with an action plan. "You can't manage what you don't measure- Peter F Drucker", a quote Dr Matt left us with, a simple reminder of the importance of data.
Prof Kirtsten showed us some of the sites and sampling she has already undertaken and the data was astonishing! You can really learn a lot about an area just by looking into what's in the water through a few simple measuring tools.
Do you have thoughts around some specific locations that need monitoring or have unexplained issues?
This is part of a workshop series occurring across NSW, with the goal of setting up water quality testing locations at your favourite fishing locations. If you are interested, please get in contact or attend a workshop to find out more! Email [email protected]
If you missed this one, no worries! There are 4 more meetings occurring (share with anyone that might be interested) and there's an online event too! And of course lot's of time to ask questions and pick their brains so definitely jump on. Here is the link
Across NSW, many waterways are in poor health, experiencing declining native fish stocks, algal blooms, fish kills and more.
