Keeping a close eye on River Blackfish

River Blackfish in the Mount Lofty Ranges have experienced significant declines in number and distribution, and are fully protected in South Australia. Their declines are attributed to alien fish species, habitat modification, and less water at their sites. Recently, some River Blackfish sites in the Mount Lofty Ranges were also affected by the severe land drought and the bushfires in the region. So, these freshwater fish are facing many threats! You can read more about River Blackfish here.

How are we conserving this endangered species?
NGT have been keeping a close eye on these beautiful fish, monitoring sites, fish abundance, health and condition. We also proactively conserve the species by carting water into sites, setting up solar aerators, and are ready to step in and rescue fish if conditions become too unfavourable at a site.

Our annual Mount Lofty Ranges fish surveys are coming up soon. This year, we will be including eDNA monitoring at select River Blackfish sites. The eDNA (environmental DNA) monitoring will check for River Blackfish DNA in water samples. This will help us detect this species where we no longer find it with standard monitoring methods. We’re excited to see what we find.

This vital conservation work is funded by the Hills and Fleurieu Landscape Board and Murraylands and Riverland Landscape Board.