A new plan to recover threatened fish populations in the Murray Corridor

At NGT, we’ve just completed an important long-term recovery plan for threatened freshwater fish in the Murray Corridor. The plan focuses on 6 threatened fish species, all of which are floodplain specialists (a particularly vulnerable group) that are threatened with extinction – the Murray Hardyhead, Southern Purple-spotted Gudgeon, Olive Perchlet, Southern Pygmy Perch, Flathead Galaxias, and Yarra Pygmy Perch. These species have all experienced historical declines in distribution and abundance and are in need of urgent conservation management for recovery.

In the Murray Corridor of the southern Murray-Darling Basin, once common small-bodied native fish species have suffered extensive range and distribution declines. Recovery must aim to create resilient self-sustaining populations at a sufficient scale to ensure species persist long-term. This kind of recovery requires a collaborative approach, as the Murray Corridor crosses multiple state and regional boundaries.

Who Funded the Plan?

This Reintroduction Plan has been funded by the Native Fish Recovery Strategy and the Tri-State Alliance. The Tri-State Alliance was formed in 2015 (read more here) to work together on catchment-wide coordinated project delivery of major projects, to provide the best outcomes. The Alliance consists of regional NRM bodies in the three states of the Murray Corridor (see image below):

• North East, Goulburn Broken, North Central and Mallee Catchment Management Authorities in Victoria,
• the NSW Murray and Western Local Land Services, and
• Murraylands and Riverland Landscape Board in SA.

One of the initiatives of the Tri-State Murray NRM Regional Alliance is to recover populations and prevent the extinction of threatened native fish species across the corridor. Following the death of millions of fish in the lower Darling River in 2018–19, the Native Fish Recovery Strategy was developed with the aim to protect and recover native fish populations in the Murray-Darling Basin (MDB). The Strategy builds on existing efforts that protect and support native fish and is implemented collaboratively between MDB states, First Nations peoples, aquatic ecology experts and local communities.

What is in the Plan?

The Plan provides a synthesis of knowledge, obtained through extensive collaboration and consultation, of six target threatened floodplain specialist fish species in the Murray Corridor for the Alliance to guide best-practice recovery actions.

The Plan calls for coordinated efforts among scientists, regional management authorities, and local communities across Victoria, New South Wales, and South Australia. It recommends a mix of direct intervention measures – such as reintroductions and habitat restoration – alongside targeted research to address key knowledge gaps.

In the plan we have:

• summarised current knowledge of the species including distribution and threats,
• identified knowledge gaps,
• outlined current conservation approaches,
• outlined targets out to 2040, for current sites where the species is being bred (either in the wild or surrogate damn/ponds),
• identified potential target sites for species reintroductions, from workshops with stakeholders and land managers, and
• provided overarching recommendations.

This is essentially an action plan designed to give these threatened fish species a chance of survival into the future, while also safeguarding the health of our freshwater ecosystems for future generations. You can download the full plan here or click the Plan image below.

We look forward to continuing our work on these important threatened species to boost their chances of long-term survival.

This project is funded by the Tri-State Murray NRM Regional Alliance and the Native Fish Recovery Strategy.
We respectfully acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the Murray–Darling Basin, their Elders past, present and emerging, their Nations of the Murray–Darling Basin, and their cultural, social, environmental, spiritual, and economic connection to their lands and waters.