The annual Campaspe Carp Catch, organised by the Strathallan Rochester Landcare group, drew hundreds of participants to the Rochester River Reserve on October 19.

The community event, held next to the bridge opposite the old cheese factory, saw 234 registered participants successfully remove 64 large carp from the waterway, with half of the fish being females laden with eggs.

“The Campaspe carp catch was very successful in 2025,” Strathallan Rochester Landcare member Veronica Groat said.

“The biggest group of people that came along were under-18.

“Now in Landcare, there are a lot of us oldies and we get a lot of young ones involved at kinder and school, but that under-18 cohort, they are the people who are going to be making the decisions about nature, the future and the environment.

“And they were wonderful, and their involvement makes us very, very happy.”

The first group of people that registered on the day for the Campaspe Carp Catch were three men from South Africa.

“We talked about how carp is a problem in South Africa,” Mrs Groat said.

“They don’t have many native fish left at all, with carp being a big problem over there.

“I asked them if they ate them, and nobody did, they just take them out of the river system as well.

“They stayed to help, and each caught a fish.”

Local businesses rallied behind the initiative with generous support.

“We had terrific prizes from Tackle World, Echuca and the good old Bendigo Bank in Rochester, Lockington and Elmore branches,” Mrs Groat said.

“Mitre 10 in Rochester gave us bags to use as showbags, it was a real Rochy affair.”

The Victorian Fishing Authority provided educational materials and resources at the event.

Recent Campaspe River Fish Survey results revealed encouraging trends, showing declining carp populations alongside increasing numbers of native fish species.

As the numbers reduce, stay tuned to see if a Campaspe Carp Catch will be needed in 2026.

The Rochester and District Angling Club assisted with measuring the caught carp.

The Strathallan Rochester Landcare group meets at noon on the last Sunday of each month at the Rochester Hotel, with everyone welcome.

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Saturday, 1st January 2028

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