Penstock Lagoon

Public meeting announced to discuss boating regulations at Penstock Lagoon
Exclusive use of electric outboard motors whilst fishing at Penstock Lagoon has been proposed to help protect the fishery public meeting will be held on Saturday 4 February at 6 pm at the Miena Community Centre to discuss a proposed change to the use of electric outboard motors only whilst boating at Penstock Lagoon. All interested anglers are welcome to attend.

The proposal by the Inland Fisheries Service is to restrict the use of petrol outboard motors on the lagoon in favour of electric. It is based on a growing concern for the sustainability of the fishery due to the impact of increasing numbers of anglers, and the number and size of boats used.
Penstock Lagoon’s popularity has steadily increased over the past decade to around 3000 anglers per year. While many Tasmanian fisheries can easily handle large number of anglers, Penstock is more susceptible to angling and boating impacts. It is a small, shallow lake with a maximum depth of only 1.8m, and receives very little flow through and flushing. The intensive fishing it has received in recent years has the potential to cause harm to the ecosystem, water quality and the surrounding riparian zone.
In proposing the regulation change, the Service is working from a precautionary position. It follows a recommendation to anglers over the last two seasons to use electric outboards on the lagoon rather than petrol outboards. This is in addition to regular reminders to boaters to obey the 5 knot speed limit which applies to the whole lagoon and to take particular care to avoid propeller damage in shallow areas as this disturbs the sediment, increasing turbidity and damaging delicate weed beds.