Little Aussie Battlers: Endangered fish moved from a drying lake have bred successfully
Endangered olive perchlet – a small translucent native fish – were found in isolated lakes in the Booligal district within the Lachlan River catchment in April 2023. But there was a problem: as summer 2023/2024 rolled around one of the lakes started to dry.
A rescue plan was hatched and approved by NSW Fisheries, and before their habitat evaporated 386 individuals were moved to a farm dam about 40 kilometres away.
Throughout 2024 the translocated population was monitored, and by November it was obvious that at least some of the refugees had survived a full year. Even better, in December juveniles were detected, meaning the ‘new’ population may well persist in the farm dam.
This is great news, as the ‘Booligal’ olive perchlet is only the second wild population of the species remaining in the Southern Murray-Darling Basin, which is basically the Lachlan and rivers to the south (like the Murrumbidgee, Murray and many rivers in Victoria).
Next steps are likely to include establishing a captive population, and – hopefully – one day re-introducing the rare animals to other areas within their former range.
The olive perchlet project has been a collaborative effort including a range of state and federal agencies such as NSW DCCEEW, Fisheries, the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder and the Murray-Darling Basin Authority, as well as the University of Canberra.
The project is a great example of how practical and realistic actions can help endangered species within the rivers of the Murray-Darling Basin.
Contributed by Adam Kerezsy.
ABOVE: An adult olive perchlet and several juveniles sampled from the translocated population in December 2024. The adult is approximately 5cm long. Image Credit: Adam Kerezsy.
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