Drought

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A hook a day keeps the doctor away – New survey finds fishing contributes to wellbeing

By Lucy Stuart September 26, 2023

We know that Australians love to fish - the types of recreational fishers are vastly diverse across Australia, with fishing meaning something different for everyone. In 2000, the first national scale recreational fishing survey was conducted, estimating that 19.5% of Australians aged five and older recreationally fish (Henry and Lyle 2003). This number was substantially

The plight of Southern Pygmy Perch and the local efforts for recovery

By Lucy Stuart August 31, 2023

Once used as a common bait fish across the Murray-Darling Basin, the now threatened Southern Pygmy Perch (SPP) has now disappeared from most historically known locations. In NSW there are only three broad locations remaining located nearby the towns of Dalton, Holbrook and Albury. The upper Lachlan drainage near Dalton is the most far-north population

Hume Dam photographed from above on a bright sunny day, with a small flow visible.

Attraction flow supporting native fish migration

By Kate McKenna March 27, 2023

‘Flow hydrodynamics’, ‘turbulent kinetic energy’, ‘rheotactic behaviour’ - whilst these terms might not mean much to you, they are essential parts of native fish migration in the Murray-Darling Basin. The Murray-Darling Basin is one of the most regulated river systems in the world, home to over 10,000 barriers preventing fish from migrating. These barriers

Microplastics in Australian freshwater fish

By Kate McKenna December 19, 2022

Microplastics are a global problem, infiltrating all levels of food systems and ecosystems. Now a multi-level governance issue, reaching across international, national and local scales, microplastics are most known for their impact on oceanic ecosystems, however, freshwater ecosystems are equally significantly impacted by plastics. Microplastics have been noticeably less researched in freshwater ecosystems compared to

Guide: Golden perch rehabilitation after a major fish kill

By Kate McKenna November 14, 2022

Like many other important native freshwater fish species within the Murray Darling Basin, Golden perch (Macquaria ambigua) were immensely impacted by the 2018-19 fish kills in the lower Darling River.  A 2021 study involving 18 researchers (by Zampatti et.al) looked into the species’ historical and current population demographics in the Darling River. The study provided guidance on how best to manage our

How agencies in the Murray-Darling Basin will support fish populations this summer?

By Kate McKenna November 12, 2022

With a wet summer already here and more rain on the horizon, how will water managers and agencies within the Murray-Darling Basin be supporting rivers and fish populations this summer? This article will explore where responsibilities lie between water management agencies in the Murray-Darling Basin, what they will be doing to help native fish and

Floods and fish – how can flooding help fish and aquatic ecosystems?

By Kate McKenna September 28, 2022

Australia’s Murray-Darling Basin, like many other catchments and basins globally, naturally fluctuates between periods of drought and periods of flooding, and has followed this pattern for more than 100 million years. Over time, its many native species have learnt and adapted to this pattern, so that the natural fluctuations between ‘boom and bust’ are now

Protect first, restore second – doing what we can to look after threatened native fish

By Kate McKenna June 30, 2022

Australian rivers are highly modified. In 2003, scientists were already recording that 97% of the rivers in New South Wales were significantly modified, placing immense strain on local aquatic and ecological communities to survive without their natural flow regimes. Almost 20 years on, this is still largely the case for rivers across NSW and the