Catchment Solutions fishways

Jungle perch returns after a 20-year absence

andrewc · May 25, 2026 ·

Native fish are wasting no time making use of a newly completed fishway in Nambour and are already returning to Petrie Creek.

The Petrie Creek fishway has been designed to help fish move past long‑standing barriers, reconnecting them with critical breeding and feeding habitat upstream.

Great Article posted by the Sunshine Coast Council following work completed by CS Environmental both in constructing a rock ramp fishway and subsequent monitoring of the waterway. They also put together are very good video on the project.

SSC Article

Jungle Perch Video

Carmila Creek Fishway Monitoring, great results!

andrewc · May 20, 2026 ·

The innovative fishway features a series of small 10 mm stepped increments within each ridge, creating shallow reduced-velocity zones that help weaker-swimming and small-bodied fish move upstream more effectively. A shallow film of water interacts with the pre-cast concrete nursery slot, reducing water velocity and improving passage conditions.

Carmila Fishway CS EnvironmentalOver just four days of monitoring:
🐟 11 native fish species were recorded ascending the fishway
🐟 Catch rates increased to 384 fish per day
🐟 Fish ranging from 20 mm to 850 mm successfully moved upstream

Before construction, monitoring recorded only one fish species, with a catch rate of just 1.49 fish per day.

Electrofishing surveys also showed a significant increase in barramundi upstream of the fishway, from zero individuals recorded before construction to 17 individuals post-construction.

These results highlight the success of the nursery-slot fishway design in restoring connectivity and improving access to upstream habitat for native fish species.

A huge thank you to project partners Reef Catchments NRM, the QLD Department of Water, Local Government, Water and Volunteers, Isaac Regional Council, and the Koinjmal People for their collaboration and support in delivering this innovative project.

Check out this short video highlighting the results:

Video

Queenslands’ largest rock fishway completed

andrewc · Jun 18, 2025 ·

Check out this great article on the Fishing World website which includes some excellent footage of the new fishway.

Fishing World Article

Jungle perch stretch their fins in Brendale

diana · May 30, 2017 ·

CS Environmental and Moreton Bay Regional Council have completed a nature like rock ramp fish ladder at Leitch’s Crossing on the South Pine River which allows economically valuable juvenile fish to move freely upstream.

Catchments Solutions fisheries biologist, Matt Moore, said the native fish were really poor swimmers and could only swim fast in small bursts which meant road crossings, causeways, weirs and culverts were major barriers.

South Pine River and a rock ramp fishway. — South Pine River rock ramp fishway.

The velocity through the pipes, and the drop of downstream at Leitch’s Crossing, prevented critical life-cycle dependant migrations upstream for decades which impacted on native fish populations.

“We’ve opened up breeding habitat for Jungle Perch and Australian Bass, both of which are popular with recreational fishers,” said Matt.

Councillor Mike Charlton said the new fishway, located on the border between Brendale and Albany Creek, was similar to a set of stairs and allowed fish to easily make their way up and down the peak of an existing culvert one step at a time.

Fish ladder at South Pine River. — South Pine River rock ramp fishway, facing upstream.

More than 400 tonne of rocks, weighing as much as 3.5 tonne each were strategically placed with a large excavator to form a series of pools interspersed with small 70 mm drops.

CS Environmental has completed three out of the planned five fish-ways to re-connect fish habitats
fragmented by barriers in South-east Queensland. These five were identified as the most important to need remediation out of 13,797 barriers in the region.

South Pine River rock ramp fishway. — South Pine River rock ramp Fishway, Leitchs Crossing in Brendale, Qld

The South Pine River fish ladder is a joint project between Moreton Bay Regional Council and Reef Catchments with co-funding from the Australian Government National Landcare Programme (Target Area Grant). The design and construction of the Fish Ladder on Leitchs Crossing in Brendale was overseen by environmental consultants CS Environmental.

A fishway in photos: Mackay Gooseponds Fishway Repair

diana · Oct 4, 2016 ·

Fishways are essential in improving connectivity and building a more sustainable and healthy native fish population.

Fish migration is essential, particularly for important diadromous (migratory) species such as; barramundi, mangrove jack, giant herring, tarpon, jungle perch and Australian bass. All these fish species breed in estuarine or marine environments, before their off-spring migrate into freshwater rivers and wetlands to feed, grow and evade predators.

Often, there are barriers to fish attempting to migrate and this can significantly impact our native fish population. For example, any barrier restricting or preventing barramundi from reaching important nursery grounds is going to have an impact on barramundi numbers into the future.

If the barrier cannot be removed, to overcome this an appropriately designed fish ladder (fishway) is the best rehabilitation strategy.

Here, we look at a fishway in photos to help showcase the elements involved.
The fishway at the lower end of the Gooseponds in Mackay was built in 2000 and has helped support fish passage for important species for many years. Over the last decade there have been many improvements in fishway design that increase functionality and service life, and make them more aesthetically pleasing. When funding became available to do some repair work to this fishway, new design elements were built in. As you can see the results speak for themselves.

Funding was provided by Reef Catchments in partnership with Mackay Regional Council. Design and on-ground works were undertaken by CS Environmental.

Read more about fish ladders here: https://csenvironmental.au/fisheries-aquatic-ecosystems/