Aliens and muddy water be gone! Making way for threatened fish at Oaklands Wetland

There has been a hive of activity at Oaklands Wetland (south of Adelaide, SA) over the past month with introduced fish management in full swing. The ten ponds of the wetland system were drained down and then further pumped out in early April by the City of Marion and high numbers of introduced fish species including common carp, redfin perch, eastern gambusia and even rainbow trout were removed by the Aquasave-NGT team.

The wetlands have remained drained for over a month to ensure introduced fish adults, juveniles and eggs are eradicated. Glynn Ricketts (City of Marion), is passionate about introduced fish management and this current work, together with planting up native aquatic plants with the Greening Australia team will provide a new life to the wetlands with clearer, cleaner water. The long term plan is to use the Oaklands Wetland site as a breeding refuge for the threatened small bodied fish species Southern Purple-spotted Gudgeon, which are at risk of extinction.