Cross-border success with ‘genetic rescue’ of Southern Pygmy Perch

Our special Southern Pygmy Perch being bred at Beyond Wetlands in SA have great genes! So these little guys were strategically used to help increase the genetic diversity of Southern Pygmy Perch in two wetlands in Victoria. We’ve recently produced a recovery plan for this and five other species of threatened fish to help recover threatened fish populations, before it’s too late.

Two hundred Southern Pygmy Perch were collected from SA and Matt Jacobs from NGT took them across the border in this genetic rescue to ‘meet up’ with resident Victorian Southern Pygmy Perch in two refuge wetlands that have undergone amazing restoration transformations. This great collaborative project will provide a critical boost for the species to have a sunny future in Victoria.

Fantastic work by all involved: North Central Catchment Management Authority (CMA), University of Canberra, City of Greater Bendigo, Private Landholders, Austral Research and Consulting, and of course our staff at NGT.

This project was made possible by the collaboration of the following:
North Central Catchment Management Authority (CMA), University of Canberra, City of Greater Bendigo, Private Landholders, Austral Research and Consulting, and NGT.