GAWB (supported by the Gladstone Ports Corporation Limited) operates  a modern marine fish hatchery for the purpose of supplying fingerlings to restock Lake Awoonga,  Gladstone's principal water storage.  The hatchery  is one of the largest breeders  of barramundi fingerlings in Queensland. It also breeds mangrove jack and sea mullet. Over 4,000,000 barramundi, 530,000 sea mullet and 70,000  mangrove jack fingerlings have been released  into Lake Awoonga.

The aims of this project are threefold:

• to return fish species to the Boyne River which have been displaced by construction of the dam wall
• to provide a high quality recreational fishery in the Gladstone region; and
• to encourage recreational use of the lake.

The hatchery is one of the largest breeders of barramundi fingerlings in Queensland and the mangrove jack breeding program has resulted in Lake Awoonga holding the largest stocks in Australia with over 70,942 released.

The hatchery is situated at the corner of Lord and Glenlyon Streets on the bank of Auckland Inlet, Gladstone and currently employs four full-time staff who together run the hatchery and monitor and manage the Lake Awoonga fishery.

Stocking and monitoring of Lake Awoonga began in the early 1980s, and was carried out by local stocking groups and under the Queensland Department of Primary Industries' Recreational Fishery Enhancement Program. Restocking at this time saw almost 250,000 fingerlings released into Lake Awoonga. Many of these species are no longer permitted to be released due to new translocation legislation.

Because this stocking effort met with limited success, in 1991 GAWB commissioned consultants to survey the lake and make recommendations on future stocking. The consultant's report concluded that stocked species were not a significant component of the fishery and highlighted the large number of predators present which presumably were reducing survival rates. The recommendations from this were that barramundi be stocked as the principal species due to its rapid growth, high survival potential and competitive nature.

After consultation with DPI (now DAFF) the decision was made to establish a hatchery to supply the large number and genetic strain of fingerlings required, and in January 1996 the first barramundi were released into Lake Awoonga.

Total numbers of fish stocked in Lake Awoonga up to June 2013 are as follows:

Fish Species		Total Numbers		Avg Size
Barramundi		3,868,432		40.6mm
Sea Mullet		526,718		52.8mm
Yellowfin Bream		78,003		no record
Mangrove Jack		70,942		70.9mm
Pikey Bream		14		no record
Silver Perch		100,625		no record
Sleepy Cod		2,000		no record
Sooty Grunter		25,500		no record
Saratoga		72		no record
Javelin Fish		4		no record
Golden Perch		105,825		no record
		TOTAL 4,778,135

Monitoring

Hatchery staff carry out a monitoring program for stocked species in the lake. The information gathered to date enables growth rates and population estimates to be made for barramundi, as well as general health, dispersal, feeding preferences and patterns, and preferred habitat

There is no closed season for barramundi at Lake Awoonga, although there are some limitations:

Limitations (1 Feb to 31 Oct)	Limitations (1 Nov to 31 Jan)
Minimum size 58cm	Minimum size 58cm
Bag limit of five (5) fish per  person and one (1) fish can be over 120cm	Bag limit of one (1) fish per person - this fish can be over 120cm

 

Other Stocked Fish

Mangrove Jack - minimum size is 35cm -  bag limit of five (5) fish per person

Sea Mullet - minimum size is 30cm  -  bag limit of twenty (20) fish per person

Other Fish - DAFF fishing regulations govern capture of other species.