COMING SOON…

Open The Floodgates: The Story Of The Hexham Swamp

Dr Craig Boys

In this episode, renowned fisheries scientist Craig Boys dives beneath the surface of the ecological and cultural significance of the Hexham Swamp, a Ramsar-listed wetland. Craig highlights the intricate relationship between aquatic ecosystems and human interventions, particularly focusing on the impact of floodgates installed for flood mitigation. Through his expert lens, we explore the consequential shifts in fish and prawn populations, the resurgence of native species, and the broader implications for fishery productivity.

EPISODE 12: Now You See Me: Why Small-Bodied Fish Are Vital To The Murray-Darling Basin

Dr Nick Whiterod

Join us on this episode of OzCast as we look beneath the surface at the often-overlooked realm of small-bodied threatened fish species in Australian waterways with Dr. Nick Whiterod, a seasoned marine ecologist with over twenty years of dedicated research and conservation efforts.

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EPISODE 11: The Perfect Storm: What is causing Australia’s Fish Kills?

Prof Lee Baumgartner

What’s behind the horrifying phenomenon of fish kills in Australian inland waterways? Join us as we unearth the many fish kills that have taken place recently with Professor Lee Baumgartner – one of the leading scientists who is involved in the government enquiry investigating the events.

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EPISODE 10: The battle against carp: will the virus work? 

Dr Martin Mallen-Cooper

On this episode of OzCast, Dr Martin Mallen-Cooper re-joins the show to look below the surface at one of the most topical questions circulating our inland fishing communities – should Australia release the Carp herpes virus (cyprinid herpesvirus 3)?  Martin, who has spent decades looking into the health of our freshwater rivers in Australia, sets the record straight on how the carp virus would work if released and offers his expert opinion on which direction the Australian government should take.  

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EPISODE 9: Sowing the seeds – South Australia’s quest to green the blue with seagrass.

Associate Professor Jason Tanner

In this episode of OzCast, Dr Jason Tanner dives beneath the surface of South Australian waters to unveil how he is working to “green the blue” by dropping sandbags in strategic areas to bring back the lost seagrass meadows of yesteryear. After spending over 25 years developing this technique from the ground up, he explains how his work went from an idea to a now industrial-level program that sees tens of thousands of bags being deployed every year.  

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EPISODE 8: Power in numbers – the trials and tribulations of community-driven seagrass restoration in Australia.

Professor Gary Kendrick

In this episode of OzCast, Professor Kendrick unveils the crucial role that seagrass plays in marine and terrestrial ecosystems, shedding light on its remarkable ability to support marine life and store blue carbon. With over 40 years of professional experience in the restoration of these marine ecosystems, Gary dives beneath the surface on all the trials and tribulations of bringing these lost meadows back to their former glory – from small scale projects, all the way to industry leading community led projects like Seeds For Snapper.  

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EPISODE 7: What’s the go with flow? Why it’s needed for native fish to thrive in the Murray Darling Basin.

Ian Ellis

In this episode of OzCast, we look below the surface of the flow of water in the Murray-Darling Basin as a critical factor that affects the health of the entire ecosystem and why it is fundamental for native fish. Iain Ellis, with 23 years in the management of fish production in the Murray Darling Basin, makes clear that flowing waters from the upper reaches to the lower stretches and mouths of rivers are critical for thriving fish populations.  

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EPISODE 6: The Forgotten Reef: Why the world can’t afford to keep losing shellfish.

Dr Dominic Mcafee

On this episode of OzCast, Dr Dominic Mcafee looks beneath the surface at Australia’s lost shellfish reefs and our road to recover them back from the brink of extinction.  

Dr McAfee is a marine ecologist at the University of Adelaide who has dedicated his career to the restoration of Australia’s oyster reefs. After stumbling across the topic while at university, he has become one of the leading names spearheading the  revival methods taking place throughout Australia and overseas.  

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EPISODE 5: Screen Time – How modern technology can help save hundreds of million of native fish every year.
Dr Craig Boys

In episode five of OzCast, we look below the surface with fisheries scientist Dr Craig Boys to address what he considers one of biggest threats to native fish across Australia – unscreened irrigation pumps. In this in-depth chat, Craig explains why 97 million fish are killed every year in NSW alone due to unscreened irrigation pumps. However, not all is lost. There is technology and infrastructure that Aussie irrigators have at their disposal through years of research that can prevent 100 per cent of these deaths – modern fish screens built for Aussie fish and Aussie rivers.  

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EPISODE 4: Fishing heritage in Australia. Exploring ancient origins and forgotten tales of yesteryear.
Professor Anna Clark

Renowned historian Anna Clark takes us through the history of fishing in Australia, from the first accounts of fishing pre-European settlement, through to the monumental events and encounters that shaped the sport we now know today. Anna has been able to trace records back to the 1700s and walks us through what it used to be like. And she debunks the misconception that James Cook was the first foreign fisherman in Australia with neighbours from our near north making annual pilgrimages well before the English captain sighted Botany Bay on board The Endeavour in 1770.

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EPISODE 3:  Out of sight, out of mind. Why endangered fish have an uphill battle to survive.
Associate Professor Mark Lintermans

Native fish in Australia have been fighting tooth and fin for survival and its time we paid attention. Mark Lintermans is considered a leading expert in Australian freshwater ecology and fish conservation in Australia and has received several awards for his contributions in the field. He takes us through the ins and outs of the history and problems facing some of our little-known freshwater fish that are struggling to survive. In particular, the trout cod Maccullochella macquariensis and stocky galaxias, Galaxias tantangara. Mark explains how long we have to go to completely understand the needs of freshwater fish in Australia.

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EPISODE 2:  How the river runs. The plight of, and solutions for, native fish in our inland rivers.
Dr Martin Mallen-Cooper

Dr Martin Mallen-Cooper is an internationally respected fisheries expert. He has advised on over 100 projects across the Murray-Darling Basin and worked advising governments both in Australia and overseas on fish ecology and fish migration. Martin is considered to be one of Australia’s top experts in the management and conservation of freshwater resources. On this episode, we chat to Martin about the problems facing the Murray Darling Basin, in particular, the effect of weir pools on flow in the river systems and the knock-on effect this has on our native fish. Martin also shares comparisons between his time in Southeast Asia, to offer insight into how destructive Australia has been to its inland waterways since colonisation. 

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EPISODE 1:  Are we eating rubbish? The true magnitude of Australia’s waste problem.
Dr Matt Landos

Aussies are concerned about litter in our rivers, creeks and oceans but there is more to our litter problem then what meets the eye. Aquatic contaminants, derived from human activities, enter waterways and impact ecosystems. On this episode, we chat with Dr Matt Landos about the impact of these contaminants, like microplastics and chemicals and the effect this is having on our fish we catch. In what is a sobering conversation, Matt brings to the surface what can be done to reverse the trend and outlines his solutions to one of the biggest environmental impacts of the last century. 

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