Gladstone Fish Health Investigation 2011 - 2012 - Western Basin ...

Thes e escapee were now also in aworse condition to that of typicalwild stock saltwater barramundi thathave always been known as a 'slim,fit fish'.The tide was definitely turning withthe barramundi beginning to looktatty and no longer carrying that'prime brilliant look' that barra areknow for.By late June most anglers hadreduced their fishing efforts unableto continue to catch barra, day inand day out, mostly governed bywater temperature- even at theGladstone Power Station warmwater outlet it was easy to see lessanglers and less fish being caught,however they were still in strongnumbers but required moreknowledge to catch. Wesuccessfully captured barra allwinter, in great numbers. Guidesexcel while the average anglerstruggles. In this June period it wasnoted that in the 'best paddocks' inthe harbour where forage food wasabundant, the escapee lake fishwere doing the best by retaining themost condition while in other areaswith far less food it was clear to seethe barra were worse off in healthand condition.Figure L. This image shows a typically fit, slim,saltwater wild stock barramundiOne phenomenon I witnessedduring late May was an intensedensity of barramundi north ofGladstone toward Ramsay'scrossing. Over a distance of 2.4nautical miles, barramundicontinually showed on the sounderscreen, rarely a moment passingwith not a fish on the screen. I jigfished barramundi in this deeperarea- no mistake, they werebarramundi. To date, 14/11/2011 theschool has departed; the nomadicways of the barramundi, along withchanging seasons have moved thefish away.146