We recently surveyed the native fish in Penstock Lagoon. Both the Shannon paragalaxias and the spotted galaxias are doing well, in terms of numbers and recruitment of young fish.

Penstock Lagoon contains three species of native fish

• the Shannon paragalaxias,
• the Great Lake paragalaxias, and
• the spotted galaxias.

The survey last week showed the Shannon paragalaxias population was healthy. We captured good numbers of fish. The other pleasing result was the high level of young fish present. This shows good recruitment over the last year.

Many of the Shannon paragalaxias were close to spawning. A lot of females were carrying large numbers of eggs. This is good news and shows the management of Penstock lagoon to be at a sustainable level.

We found just the one Great Lake paragalaxias but this is not unusual. This species occurs in good numbers in Great Lake but is uncommon in Penstock Lagoon.

The spotted galaxias was present in lower numbers than the Shannon paragalaxias. This is normally not the case and not concerning. In many waters across the State, spotted galaxias are common.

The water quality was also excellent. Even with the low temperatures, there was plenty of aquatic insects and crustaceans.