Monaro Acclimatisation Society president, Kerry Pfeiffer, says the expansion of the Gaden Trout Hatchery will deliver a significant boost to the Snowy Mountains’ recreational fishing industry.

The NSW government last week announced the hatchery will be home to a new $5 million world-class fish production facility to expand the centre’s breeding capacity.

Snowy Hydro is funding $5 million to build the new large 462 metres squared, steel structure fish breeding facility at the hatchery site, with ongoing costs and operational management undertaken by the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development on-site fisheries team.

The project will help protect the state’s unique fisheries, embedding resilience into landscapes, and building up critical foundations for the recreational fishing sector.

A state government operated facility in Jindabyne, the expansion of the hatchery will future-proof the production of trout even if the climatic conditions are not favourable such as in times of drought or flooding.

It will also help the government’s teams respond quicker to events that may have an impact on trout fishery such as pest fish like the redfin.

“This project is a great example of the recreational fishing sector continuing to partner with the NSW Government and Snowy Hydro to identify and resolve issues that arise as the NSW trout fishery evolves over time,” Mr Pfeiffer said.

“Issues such as recovering native freshwater fish populations, managing destructive invasive threats, climate change and water quality are all issues that require compromise and adaptive thinking to solve.

“The Monaro Acclimatisation Society has played a key role in ensuring the significant socio-economic benefits provided by the trout fishery will be maintained as the Snowy 2.0 project is developed and implemented.”

Member for Monaro, Steve Whan, said the new facility shows how the NSW government is collaborating with industry and community groups to deliver better regional outcomes with this project involving the Monaro Acclimatisation Society and Snowy Hydro.

“The Snowy Mountains region is renowned for providing high quality trout fishing opportunities, so it’s important that we do everything we can to plan for embedding resilience into the trout population so it can withstand natural disasters and biosecurity threats,” Mr Whan said.

“Thanks to the $5 million funding provided by Snowy Hydro, the government’s Gaden Trout Hatchery will soon be equipped to produce larger trout to ensure that recreational fishing remains a strong drawcard for tourism into our region for many years to come.

“The Gaden Trout Hatchery is the beating heart of our region’s trout fishing, and I look forward to visiting the new facility as it builds up over 2026.”

The new facility will house a state-of-the-art recirculating aquaculture system where the hatchery team team can grow advanced size rainbow and brown trout fingerlings, larger than 160mm in length, to reduce or eliminate the impact of pest fish such as redfin if the need arises.

The installation of a recirculating aquaculture system at Gaden will facilitate growing trout to the size required for stocking and significantly reduce quantities of water required.

The recirculating aquaculture system also enables better control of the environment and water conditions to maintain the health of cultured fish and will assist staff in producing superior fish in a much shorter timeframe.

The new hatchery will have the capacity to produce up to 20 tonnes of fish each year.

The project will embed resilience into the world-class trout fishery of Lake Eucumbene to address any future biosecurity risks, including the movement of redfin perch into Tantangara reservoir.

Snowy Hydro will also be undertaking ongoing monitoring at Tantangara reservoir and Lake Eucumbene to ensure any breach can be quickly responded to.

The tender for the construction of the new facility at Gaden Trout Hatchery closed on 30 October.

It is anticipated that construction will commence in 2026 after the tender is awarded.

The expanded hatchery works are expected to be completed by the end of next year.

This project forms part of the Recreational Fishing Management Plan developed for Snowy 2.0.

“We’re proud to be working with our partners to deliver this new facility in the Snowy Mountains region,” Snowy Hydro CEO, Dennis Barnes, said.

“We know fishing is incredibly important to tourism and recreation locally.

“This partnership is a great example of the Snowy Hydro team working with the community to bring to life a project that will have tangible benefits for tourism, as well as for every local who loves a fish.”