Mount Isa Fish Stocking Group ordered 10,000 Sooty Grunter fingerlings at the start of the year, with their supplier delivering 15,000 earlier this week.

Mount Isa Fish Stocking Group president Michael Scotney said the group released the fingerlings into Lake Moondarra on Tuesday May 31.

"Sooty Grunter do not breed successfully in our lake because they need running water, like running creeks, for an extended period of time to breed in.

"Our supplier bred them out until they're 50 millimetres long and have delivered them to Mount Isa this week for us to release."

Mr Scotney said it was important to restock fish in our local waterways.

"It is important for the sustainable future for fishing, for our families, for our kids and river systems; because if they don't breed in there naturally, they need to be stocked or they will eventually die out," he said.

"This is the first time in a number of years that we have restocked Sooty Grunter, we do strive to put Barramundi or Sooty Grunters in each year. Now that we have access to a breeding farm that has Sooty Grunters regularly we hope to stock them more regularly."

Mr Scotney said the Fish Stocking Group only restocked the Barramundi and Sooty Grunters into Lake Moondarra.

"Other species breed naturally in there. Sooty Grunters should breed naturally in our river system but it is just the river doesn't run for long enough. They breed naturally at Lake Julius, there are thousands of them there," he said.

"A few community members come down to watch the release of the fingerlings, which was good to see some interest."

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