8 December 2021
News
Floodplain heroes – meet Braeden Lampard from OzFish
Braeden Lampard is the OzFish Program Manager for the Murray–Darling Basin
Braeden had an interest in fishing from a young age and encourages young people to follow in his footsteps of fish habitat conservation at every opportunity. You’ll find him coordinating various restoration projects throughout the Murray–Darling Basin if he isn’t out fishing!
How did you get into fishing?
I grew up fishing with my family. My uncle and his friend used to pick me up after school (depending on what we wanted to catch) and take me down to the Murray for a fish. In high school, I spent most of my time down the river either camping and fishing with friends and family. My love for fishing and the Murray River has only grown from there and I spend every minute either thinking about fishing, restoring our waterways or fishing.
There are countless great fishing experiences which will stay in my memory forever. I believe that the best fishing experience is yet to come as I watch my daughter grow up enjoying and loving our waterways like me. I hope she will fall in love with fishing and the environment as much as I have.
Why work at OzFish?
There are many reasons why I work at OzFish. But the main reasons are, I love fish and love to fish. I grew up in Mildura, so I bring real-life knowledge, experience and community connections to the table.
My background is in natural resource management in a variety of fields including biodiversity, riparian management, restoration, stakeholder engagement and native fish ecology.
I truly believe in the goals and aspirations and what we stand for as a charity. Raising the skillset of recreational anglers to undertake restoration projects will significantly benefit the native fishery and it’s important to me to leave a legacy behind. I want to ensure I did absolutely everything I possibly could to create a healthier and sustainable future for native fish.
Can you tell us about your restoration projects?
I focus mainly on freshwater restoration projects in the many rivers, creeks, and billabongs throughout the mighty Murray Darling Basin.
Right now, I’m getting stuck into installing fish screen on irrigation pumps, vegetation planting days and community fishing days.
Previously, I have been involved in instream habitat restoration projects. I’m kind-of known for doing lots of re-snagging!
I have coordinated community fishing days, rubbish and community clean-ups, native tree planting days and pest species removal events.
My personal favourite would be the work that has been conducted on the Lower Darling River which has included translocating native fish out of drying holes and installing woody habitat into the Murray River near Mildura.
Favourite place to fish in Australia?
My favourite place to fish in Australia is within Lower Murray River from Nangiloc to Ned’s corner it’s a super spot to fish.
What’s something interesting people do not know about you?
I have recently started getting into collecting plastic Australian made lures. Whilst the collection is small now, it is growing. The aim is to collect enough lures to display on a wall at home one day.
More information
To find out more about OzFish in Sunraysia, visit https://ozfish.org.au/chapters/sunraysia/
