Project participants were also able to see the eel-tailed catfish that have been successfully breeding in the lagoons.
A celebratory barbecue breakfast was held in the Waring Gardens after release of the Pygmy Perch, which were rescued from drying waterways by NSW Department of Primary Industries Fisheries and bred at a hatchery in Victoria.
The lagoons restoration project began in 2010 as a community-government partnership to improve the natural and socially important values of the series of lagoons in the centre of town.
It has been led by the Edward-Wakool Angling Association (EWAA), with the threatened fish breeding program being the major objective set at the start.
Rehabilitation of the lagoons started a decade ago with major works resulting in five lagoons currently restored with wetland vegetation and habitat.
"With the wetland habitat now significantly improved a second key, long-term objective of establishing breeding populations of locally threatened native fish species is now underway,’’ EWWA president Troy Bright said.
‘‘The aim has always been to establish source populations of threatened wetland fish species that are locally extinct or rare.’’
‘‘Barham Lakes was threatened with development plans, and so the group acquired a permit from NSW DPI Fisheries to catch and relocate eel-tailed catfish and other native fish from Barham Lakes to the lagoons at Deniliquin.
‘‘Over the past 18 months, 40 catfish of varying sizes were successfully relocated, and were then observed nesting in Waring Gardens lagoon for the past two summers, producing numerous juvenile Catfish. The release of Southern Pygmy Perch this week represents the next critical stage of the project.”
EWAA scientific officer John Conallin added that recent monitoring yielded excellent numbers of young Catfish indicating breeding occurred in both the 2018/19 and 2019/20 summers.
‘‘Size variations in the young Catfish indicate multiple breeding events have occurred each summer with the youngest having just left the nest,’’ he said.
‘‘In addition, flat-headed gudgeon and carp gudgeon are also successfully breeding in the lagoons.
‘‘Many considered the threatened fish breeding program at Deniliquin to be very ambitious.
‘‘There are a lot of habitat, breeding requirements and rules and regulations that need to be considered. However these results demonstrate how local expertise, passion and enthusiasm from community groups can produce outstanding social and environmental results.’’
The threatened fish breeding program at Deniliquin aims to achieve the introduction of other threatened species in the coming years, Mr Conallin said.
Partnering with EWAA in the project are Edward River Council, Murray Local Land Services, NSW DPI Fisheries, Native Fish Australia and Middle Creek Hatchery in Victoria,