And the taskforce plans to keep a closer eye on the ecological health of the lakes to make sure they continue to improve.

The taskforce recently commissioned a study of the lakes so it would have a snapshot of the current health of the lakes.

The study, conducted by the Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research, showed signs the lakes' health was improving in the wake of the blooms, with substantial fish numbers and species, reduced algal concentrations and increased seagrass density among the key findings.

The study looked at fish catches, seagrass density and quality and algal concentration at 30 sites in September, 2008 and again in April, 2009.

Taskforce chair Professor Barry Hart said the study's findings showed the estuarine system fighting back from the algal outbreak of 2007-08.

"This shows very nicely that the lakes system has a very good capacity to recover,'' he said.

"People often say what's been happening to the lakes is catastrophic, that the lakes have gone beyond the point of no return, but I don't believe this is the case.

"The natural process is still going along fine.

"There's more fish species in the lakes and there's more of them around and the presence of juveniles indicates good breeding is occurring.''

"The seagrass at a significant number of sites has improved in abundance and the levels of algae in the water have declined.''

Professor Hart said the study would form the basis of future monitoring and management of the lakes system by the taskforce.

He said there was little information about the past health of the lakes and the taskforce hoped to ensure there was information in the future.

"We really believe we haven't been monitoring the ecological health of the lakes well enough,'' he said.

"The focus in the past has tended to be on nutrients in the water column and algae.

"What we're trying to do now is focus more on the ecological progress of the lakes and monitor the health of the seagrasses and fish.

"We'll be discussing with a range of agencies responsible for the different components of the lakes about where we go from here.''