Oh my cod

Here are some facts you can slip into your BBQ conversation repertoire, or they might come in handy at the next quiz night:

• The River Murray is Australia’s longest river, measuring 2,530 km.
• The mighty Murray is also the world’s third longest navigable river, after the Amazon and Nile.
• Up to 85 per cent of South Australia’s drinking water comes from the River Murray.
• In 2012-13 more than half the gross value of the state’s irrigated agriculture came from the Murray-Darling Basin in SA ($840 million).
• The River Murray in SA is home to three internationally important Ramsar wetlands: Riverland, Banrock Station, and Coorong and Lakes Alexandrina and Albert.
• Seven locks and weirs manage the river’s flow and assist navigation from Lake Victoria across SA.
• The largest recorded Murray cod was reportedly over 113 kg and 180 cm long.

Actually, the Murray cod story might be an urban myth. It was reported in a New South Wales newspaper, but no photos or third-party evidence appears to exist.

Then again, it’s hard to imagine anyone purposely exaggerating the size of a fish they caught.

What’s your fish tale?