Namoi River

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The Namoi River is a river in inland New South Wales, Australia.

The headwaters of the Namoi, including the Macdonald River, the Peel River, the Cockburn River and the Manilla River, rise on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range in northern New South Wales. Flowing generally westward, they join to form the Namoi River near Gunnedah in the Liverpool Plains. The Namoi then flows westwards past Narrabri and Wee Waa and eventually joins the Barwon River, near the town of Walgett.

Keepit Dam near Gunnedah is an important dam for flood control and irrigation. The floodplains of the lower Namoi around Wee Waa are an important area for growing cotton which is irrigated using water from the dam.

The Namoi supports a wide range of fish and crustaceans,which include Murray cod,Yellowbelly,Silver Perch,Catfish(tandanus tandanus)as well as Crawbobs(cherax destructor)."Crawbob" is a regional name and may be called a Yabbie elsewhere in the state. Murray Cod in the Namoi grow to a very large size,with fish of forty kilograms or larger being not uncommon. European Carp and extensive irrigation practices have had adverse impact on the native fish population over the last forty years,and without various restocking programs that have been undertaken by volunteers mainly,the native fish population would be small indeed.