OzFish Peel-Harvey Chapter is working with the team on the Bunbury Outer Ring Road project and Recfishwest to deploy large logs, repurposed from road construction works, as habitat for marron in the Harvey River. It is the latest stage of work being led by the Harvey River Restoration Taskforce, Water Corporation, and Greening Australia.
Six
large snags to be deployed
Three
key locations
50
volunteer hours
An iconic native species to WA
Marron are the third largest freshwater crayfish in the world and are endemic to south-west WA and fishing for them has long been a popular pastime.
Licensed marron fishing occurs each January, for several weeks, in multiple dams and rivers across the southwest of WA. Marron thrive in complex habitat, particularly things like large woody debris, so ensuring this is plentiful is key to supporting marron numbers in the state.
Environmental pressures including the destruction of riverbank vegetation, increasing salinity, climate change and reduced river flow have seen their range and number reduced.
Enhancing woody habitats, called ‘snags’, provide marron with a source of shade, shelter, food, and place to rest out of the water. Unfortunately, snags are lacking in many waterways having been removed for various reasons over the last hundred years. Research also suggests marron are often territorial and won’t move far if the habitat is healthy.
Photo Credit: WA Department of Water Environment and Regulation
OzFish is working with the team on the Bunbury Outer Ring Road project and local councils to repurpose large logs previously used in road construction. These logs, which form the basis for the perfect marron and fish habitat are placed in strategic locations, perfect for restoration.
OzFish volunteers and project partners conduct habitat mapping of waterways to identify the locations where snags are needed and which present the best opportunity for marron to make the logs their homes.
The six snags will be deployed in the Harvey River during Autumn 2024, and they will then be monitored to determine their success in enhancing healthy habitat for freshwater fish and marron.
The activity being delivered by OzFish is the latest phase of a wider project being led by the Harvey River Restoration Taskforce, Water Corporation, and Greening Australia.
The marron habitat project will add immense value to the stocking project already underway through a WA Government initiative. Together, it is hoped the investment will future proof the marron fishery in WA.
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A partnered approach to conservation
This project brings together organisations, industry, government, scientists, local community and landholders to restore river function and diversity to the highly degraded lower reaches of the Harvey River in Western Australia.
It is part of wider work being led by the Harvey River Restoration Taskforce, Water Corporation, Murdoch University and Greening Australia. Collaborative partners include the Department of Water Environmental Regulation, Murdoch University, and Harvey Aboriginal Corporation. Funding is provided by State Natural Resource Management Program WA, Water Corporation, Peel Harvey Catchment Council and Alcoa Foundation.
This project is funded by the WA Government’s Recreational Fishing Initiatives Fund and is supported by project partner Recfishwest, and BCF – Boating, Camping, Fishing.
