The Murray hardyhead calls some of the wetlands of Sunraysia home, but this threatened species has faced a diverse range of severe challenges over a prolonged period. Not only has its natural habitat been reduced, but it has also been impacted by drought and faces competition from pest species, such as common carp.
OzFish is working as part of a steering committee, the First Peoples of Millewa Mallee Aboriginal Corporation, land managers, key stakeholders, and community volunteers to ensure an effective approach is implemented across the region.
That involves delivering educational fish-focused forums and field events to engage and inspire local people to support and get involved in habitat restoration activities in their area.
A key component of the project is the construction and installation of woody habitats, with high complexity, and small limestone rocks in lagoons across Sunraysia.
Those woody habitats are called ‘fish motels’ and are environmentally friendly – being constructed of wood and natural rope. They provide Murray hardyhead and other native fish with a valuable source of shade, food, and shelter from predators.
Once volunteers have built the structures, they will be deployed in deeper sections of lagoons using OzFish’s Sunraysia River Repair Bus
In addition to the woody and rocky habitats, volunteers will also plant more than 2,000 native trees and other vegetation, both in riparian zones bordering waterways and in the water itself.
These integrated and community efforts demonstrate the power of working together and creating awareness through education and engagement.
The Murray hardyhead has lived up to its name by making a remarkable comeback from the brink of extinction, but its future is still clouded. Iain Ellis is an ecologist and fisheries manager who has led native fish recovery programs over the past 20 years which have helped ensure the critically endangered Murray hardyhead Craterocephalus fluviatilis is winning its battle for survival.
We have all heard of a hotel, right? What about a fish hotel? It’s basically the same thing as what we would traditionally associate with the word, except there is no check-out time, it’s designed for native fish, and it is a project curiosity of us – OzFish (although we might wish we owned real hotels).
