Questions Asked About Fishing in Albert Park Lake

The Victorian Fisheries Authority recently released 1,500 ‘ready to catch’ rainbow trout into Albert Park Lake under its school holiday program to encourage young anglers. Another 1,500 are planned for September. Local nature lovers are not happy.

Despite persistent reports of waterborne diseases such as avian botulism killing fish and birds in the lake, 1,500 ‘family-friendly’ size rainbow trout were released into Albert Park Lake in late June.

The release was part of a 35,000 fish release across waterways and lakes timed to coincide with the winter school holidays.

Kelly Brennan, Lake ALIVE! Convenor, contacted TWiSK to raise concerns about the release and the planned second release in September.

She reported that the lake was slowly emerging, maybe temporarily, from an avian botulism outbreak, after months of finding hundreds of dead fish and birds floating on the lake’s surface.

“At the same time, there have been increasing numbers of birds maimed and killed by fishing line entanglements, and simmering frustrations over fishing in conservation zones,” she said.

No Reply from Fisheries Authority

TWiSK contacted the Victorian Fisheries Authority with questions about the release but has yet to receive a reply (after ten days). We questioned if it was safe to eat fish caught in the lake, if water quality was considered before the release, and the survival rate of the fish.

However, Kelly was forthright, saying, “I wouldn’t want my kids fishing in that lake.”

“Is there any benefit in putting 1,500 non-native fish into a shallow, stagnant lake? A lake that contains stormwater runoff from Melbourne’s busiest roads and the remnants of summer and autumn’s poisonous bacteria?

“It didn’t make sense in June, and it will make even less sense to add more in September when new spring birds are hatching.

“You can’t swim in this lake because of the health risk, and, of course, you can’t eat fish from this lake. That’s been the official advice as long as I can remember,” she said.

Dismal Breeding Season in 2024

According to Lake ALIVE!, Albert Park had a dismal breeding season last spring, with only a handful of ducklings and cygnets.

They report seeing anglers in ‘no fishing’ zones or with multiple, unmanaged lines in the water. Some fishers toss in bread to attract curious birds dangerously close.

Kelly called for an urgent re-think of the plan to release more unwanted fish in the lake in September.

Read the government media statement from June 2025.