Funding continues to be sought for a multi-million dollar proposed fish passage at the Bright Weir on the Ovens River in Centenary Park.
The Victorian government withdrew the $2.6m it had allocated for the project last year after a significant shortfall in funding to complete the whole project was identified.
North East Catchment Management Authority (NECMA), which had worked with Alpine Shire Council and the community on the proposal since 2020, chose to indefinitely defer the project, but it has confirmed it is still pursuing funding.
"The Bright Fishway along with the Porepunkah and Snowy Creek fishways have been submitted to the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) and the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder as infrastructure projects that will benefit waterway health in the North East," a NECMA spokesperson told this masthead.
"At this stage no alternative funding has been identified, however North East CMA continues to advocate for funding for projects such as these that will improve waterway health in the region."
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NECMA confirmed that a much higher budget than the original figure of $3 million will be required for completion of the Bright Fishway, based on cost increases over the last five years.
It said an engineering and geotechnical assessment of the site last year "confirmed the viability of constructing an integrated fishway at the Bright Weir".
The Bright Fishway project seeks to help native fish - including threatened species such as trout cod, and significant species like Macquarie Perch and sub adult Murray Cod.
The more than $3 million project involves construction of a vertical slot fishway at Bright Weir, to overcome the artificial barrier that is preventing native fish from migrating into the upper reaches of the Ovens catchment and negatively impacting on breeding and contributing to population decline.
NECMA says the fishway would allow native fish to move more freely up and downstream across a 42 kilometre stretch between Bright Weir and the headwaters of the Ovens River, and also give fish access to an additional 120 kilometres of tributaries linked to the Ovens River.
The project was identified as a high priority in NECMA's Regional Waterway Strategy, acknowledging the Ovens River is home to significant populations of native fish and is one of only two rivers in the Murray-Darling Basin with a near-natural flow regime.
A steering group comprising members from Bright Chamber of Commerce, Upper Ovens Landcare Group, Alpine Shire Council, Taungurung Land and Water Aboriginal Corporation and the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action worked with NECMA for two years on the project.
