Correct handling methods help reduce stress on fish, avoid damage and harm to vital organs, and facilitate healthy release. 

Some key steps for responsible catch and release include: 

1. Ensure your hands are wet whenever handling a fish;
2. As much as possible, keep the fish submerged in water;
3. When lifting the fish, support its body weight;
4. Plastic lip grips help secure the fish; 
5. Enviro nets minimise fish handling; and 
6. When measuring the fish, use the measuring mat on the water's edge or submerged in the water. 

For more information, visit the Finterest website.

When fishing in NSW waters, both freshwater and saltwater, you are required by law to pay the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee and carry a receipt showing the payment of the fee. Payment of the Recreational Fishing Fee can be made online at Service NSW.

Bag limits, size limits and gear restrictions apply with fishing. You should familiarise yourself with these rules before fishing. Information is available from your local fisheries office, many bait and tackle stores, or NSW Department of Primary Industries. 

For freshwater bag and size limits, visit the Department of Primary Industries website.

Please note, some fishing gear is prohibited for use in inland waters, including closed-top yabby traps. Yabby traps pose risks to wildlife like platypus, turtles and even some waterbirds which enter the traps in search of food but can’t escape and end up drowning. For the full list of permitted and prohibited freshwater fishing methods, visit the Department of Primary Industries website.

Ensure that no fishing tackle, fishing line and litter is left behind. Fishing line can be a hazard to aquatic and land-based animals and birds, causing entanglements which can cause serious harm and even death. Keeping our waterways litter free, means better fish and waterway health and better recreational fishing.

Carp, including colourful koi carp, are a large invasive freshwater fish that have been introduced to south-eastern Australian waterways and are known for degrading our natural aquatic environment. Carp also outcompete native fish, reducing their numbers.

If you catch a carp while fishing, you should humanely kill the animal and appropriately dispose of it, rather than returning it to the water. For more information, please refer to the Carp in Camden’s waterways information card or the NSW Department of Primary Industries website.

Council undertakes routine blue-green algae monitoring at a number of local waterbodies, including the Nepean River. Blue-green algae can produce toxins that may be damaging to humans and domestic animals. Blooms tend to be more common in the warmer months due to high levels of sunlight, low rainfall and high nutrients in waterways. The community is advised to avoid fishing and interacting with our waterways when conditions are at an amber or red alert for blue-green algae.

To find out more and view current blue-green algae alerts, please visit Council’s Water Quality Monitoring webpage.

Camden Council checks the river’s water quality every week from November to the end of March. The results can help you make an informed decision about fishing in the river. It’s important to note that Council does not recommend or support recreation activities at the spots shown on the map. These locations are tested because we know people are already using them – not because they are safe or approved for recreation.  

To find out more and view the most recent results, please visit Council’s Water Quality Monitoring webpage.

Camden Council developed the citizen science project, Hook, Line & Measure, where the community can record their fishing activity or observation. Hook, Line & Measure encourages the community to identify and record the species, size and distribution of fish caught and observed in the Nepean River and other local waterways in the Camden area.

This project helps the community to identify areas for recreational fishing activities and assists Council in collecting baseline data to better understand our waterways and inform the delivery of future waterway projects.

To support Camden residents’ desire to fish on the Nepean River, Camden Council installed fish habitat structures and erosion control measures to promote the increase in population and passage of Australian Bass. The project involved bank stabilisation, erosion control, addition of large woody debris as fish habitat, removal of weeds such as balloon vine, planting with native species, and site maintenance. For more information on this project, please visit Council’s Waterway Projects webpage.

Council also seeks to retain existing fish habitat by not removing snags in waterways. Snags provide fish with sites to attach eggs during breeding, sites to rest from fast river flows, shelter from predators, landmarks to define territories and aid navigation, and ambush sites. Snags also provide habitat for water bugs which are essential food sources for native fish.

Camden Council works with and supports programs run by other government agencies. This includes Department of Primary Industries for weed and pest management, fish stocking, permits for works within fish passageways, and creation of fish habitat, and WaterNSW for blue-green algae notification and consultation, and management of the Nepean River weirs and fish ladders.

To see how vertical slot fishways work, view the Department of Primary Industries' video here.

A modern fish screen is a physical barrier that prevents fish and debris from being drawn into a pump or channel when water is extracted from a waterway. It is estimated that millions of native fish are injured or killed in Australia as a result of water extraction practices. Fish screens reduce native fish losses by 90% and help to keep pumps debris free, also saving farmers and businesses money by reducing the need to regularly clean and maintain pumps. 

It is important that the right type of screen is used, that they are installed to suit the conditions of the site and maintained correctly. 

To learn more, visit the Fish Screens Australia website and check out the NSW Department of Primary Industries Practical Guide to Modern Fish Protection Screening in Australia.

Water that runs off our driveways, roads, roofs, footpaths and gardens travel via our stormwater system to our local creeks and waterways. This stormwater carries litter, fertiliser from gardens, oils from our roads, and excess sediment and organic matter, straight into our local waterways with no or very little treatment to remove these pollutants. Pollution decreases the water quality of our rivers, creeks and lakes and impacts negatively on the local plants and animals that live there, including native fish. 

Everyone can take steps to help improve the quality of water that ends up in our waterways by taking small actions in our everyday lives. Take our Be the Solution to Stormwater Pollution Pledge and commit to five changes that make a positive impact on stormwater quality.

The Biosecurity Act 2015 outlines a number of restricted species that are prohibited from being kept or released in NSW. The highest-risk exotic invasive species are listed on the Federal Government’s Exotic Environmental Pest List. 

Within NSW, there are various priority weeds that pose a threat to Camden’s waterways. These include Alligator Weed, Salvinia, Water Hyacinth and Ludwigia. To learn more, visit Invasive and Priority Weeds.