Murray River rescue mission breathes new life into native species after devastating floods
More than 1500 freshwater crayfish and hundreds of native fish are back in the swim of things in the Murray River after being rescued following the devastating floods which inundated the area in late 2022 and earlier this year.
A rescue operation was undertaken by OzFish Unlimited, volunteers, farmers, landholders and New South Wales and Victorian state government agencies to save aquatic species following the significant flooding within the Southern Murray-Darling Basin over the summer months.
Working together with an alliance of like-minded organisations, OzFish’s Fish Emergency Recovery Teams went into action and donated more than 350 hours to collecting iconic aquatic species like the Murray cod, golden and silver perch.
The fish provide social and cultural benefits for communities throughout the Murray-Darling Basin.
In extremely difficult and distressing conditions, OzFish volunteers managed to rescue 775 freshwater crayfish and 47 native fish safely and efficiently over a two-month period.
Combined with several other community groups and other government agencies who helped in the rescue mission, more than 1500 freshwater crayfish and hundreds of native fish were successfully captured and relocated or held over the course of the flooding period.
They were taken to private aquaculture sites where they were looked after until the conditions improved before they were released back to where they came from in the Murray River in May.
The OzFish Fish Emergency Recovery Teams worked in conjunction with NSW DPI Fisheries, the Murray Darling Basin Authority, Mallee Catchment Management Authority, the Victorian Fisheries Authority, First Nations communities, aquaculture organisations and community members, with funding support from our major partner BCF – Boating Camping Fishing.
“At the end of 2022 and start of 2023 there was flooding right across the Murray-Darling Basin, and it was one of the largest the Basin has seen in at least 40 years,” said Braeden Lampard, OzFish Program Manager – Murray Darling Basin.
“Floods picks up debris like leaves, sticks and native vegetation. That causes survival problems for aquatic species because as it breaks down it sucks oxygen from the water.
“That meant that quite large areas of floodplains were inundated and that flooding essentially caused stress to many aquatic species.
Freshwater crayfish started exiting the waterways because the conditions were degrading quite quickly.
“The native fish showing signs of stress were losing colour, many of them were pale white and floating so they were on the edge of dying,” Lampard added.
“Volunteers are fundamental to OzFish and without their help we wouldn’t have been able to rescue these iconic species. With that we say, thank you.
“We worked throughout the mid and lower Murray from Mildura up to Barham for a month and a half, collecting native fish by boating along in a vessel and netting the distressed fish and placing them in a tank filled with oxygen to bring them back to life.
“We were working 24/7, on weekends, doing up to 500km during the day, volunteers taking time off work during the week. They were really hard times, but also gratifying.
“To give you an idea of the scale of the flooding we were catching distressed fish in the middle of wheat fields.
“It was an awesome effort by the volunteers, it’s what Aussie mateship is all about. These locals felt duty-bound to help out the fish.”
Spotting the distressed fish in the water was trickier than collecting the crayfish which had climbed trees or wandered onto the land due to the state of the water.
“In some sections of the Murray River, it was 3km wide, so trying to locate those distressed fish was like trying to find a needle in a haystack,” Lampard added.
“Volunteers worked tirelessly around the clock to save as many native aquatic species as we could.
“We tried the best we possibly could. All those fish that we put back in the river system will hopefully be able to breed and produce more offspring for the future. And for the local community that’s what really matters.”
OzFish is now working hard to ensure healthy habitat is restored to the hardest-hit areas and we are doing what we can to mitigate the drivers of many of the challenging conditions.
This work was made possible from the collaboration of OzFish volunteers, NSW DPI Fisheries, the Murray Darling Basin Authority, Mallee Catchment Management Authority, the Victorian Fisheries Authority, First Nations communities, aquaculture organisations and community members, with funding support from our major partner BCF – Boating Camping Fishing.
For more information visit ozfish.org.au
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