Native fish populations in the Murray-Darling Basin (MDB) are in poor condition, with altered flow regimes being a major contributor to their decline. Implementation of the Basin Plan provides the opportunity to improve flow regimes and contribute to the restoration of native fish populations. Nine Long Term Water Plans (LTWPs) are being developed for catchments across NSW, setting objectives for five, 10 and 20 years. The LTWPs will inform the annual decision making process and guide the management of water to maximise river and wetland health outcomes in the relevant catchment and the MDB. NSW DPI Fisheries used the latest management and scientific information to develop five different ‘functional groups’ of fish species identified based on shared life history characteristics and responses to flow. The Environmental Water Requirements (EWRs) to support these life history characteristics were then developed. Valley scale objectives and targets in LTWPs have a direct line of sight to the overarching basin scale outcomes and are ecologically relevant to the management and monitoring activities within the valley. It is anticipated that the implementation of these EWRs will contribute to the achievement of overarching Basin Plan outcomes and valley specific objectives and targets for native fish.