OzFish and Landcare Australia has given a leg up for a little-known endangered fish in Northern NSW, the Oxleyan Pygmy Perch (OPP), which had its home impacted by the catastrophic 2019/2020 Black Summer bushfires in Northern New South Wales.
Bushfires and recent flooding had dramatically impacted the home of the OPP. The two groups are now working to protect and restore lost habitat for the small-bodied fish within the region to give it every chance of survival.
Problems such as overgrown woody weeds, erosion, and the decimation of old-growth trees brought on by the disasters has seen one of the last remaining healthy breeding grounds for the OPP struggle to revive.
It is slowly getting brought back to life as part of the Landcare Australia Aquatic Wildlife Habitat Bushfire Program, which commenced with removing the invasive weeds which was overtaking the natives in the area.
OzFish Richmond River Chapter volunteers also assisted NSW DPI Fisheries with a recent release of captive-bred Oxleyan Pygmy Perch into a nearby wetland to assist with their recovery. This will provide the extra boost to give the population the best chance of survival.
In a bid to learn more about the fish’s ecology a team of OzFish members and Landcarers toured the Bundjalung National Park with researchers from Griffith University. Mark Kennard and his Griffith Uni team are currently researching the impacts of recent fires on Oxleyan pygmy perch and other wallum wetland species.
OzFisher Bob Burns said “I had no idea these fish existed in our local wetlands. I was equally amazed to see the impact of the fire, even in the wetland areas,” said Mr Burns.
OzFish Project Officer for Northern NSW, Demara Gates
Demara Gates, OzFish Project Officer for Northern NSW believes you don’t have to be a scientist to appreciate all living critters. Many recreational fishers just love fish and learning about them, no matter how small.
“This is just one of the ways OzFish are building capacity within the recreational fisher community to better understand our fish.
“Oxleyan Pygmy Perch are an important part of coastal wetland ecosystems, they’re a small fish not targeted recreationally and we’re still learning so much about them.
“It is vital to support the endangered population recover after such devastation,” said Ms Gates.
Electrofishing in search of the OPP
In search of the OPP, the tour group saw the variety of species that inhabit the wetlands of the national park, discovering the gambusia (mosquito fish), gudgeon, short-finned eel, yabby species and a variety of frogs.
The tour also experienced an ecology lesson from Griffith University with a display of macroinvertebrates that are an important indicator of waterway health plus a food source for many of our fish species.
“Special thanks to Global Giving for their support of our fisher-science bushfire monitoring actions, Griffith University for their time and display and National Parks NSW for the private tour and to BCF -Boating, Camping Fishing who support all of our fish habitat restoration projects across the country,” Demara said.
This project was made possible by the Australian Government’s Wildlife and Habitat Bushfire Recovery program and OzFish’s major partner BCF – Boating, Camping, Fishing.
