SA’s giant Murray Crays get more media attention

After two successful releases an iconic giant is back in Murray River in South Australia. After an initial release in 2023, a second one in July 2024, and a positive survey result things are looking up for the Murray Crayfish in SA. We have shared the journey of the iconic Murray Crayfish reintroduction project with our readers along the way, and there’s a bit of a stir going on in the media as well.

With several ABC videos, radio interviews and articles earlier on, and now recently The Conversation also ran an article on the story of the Murray Crayfish reintroduction. Check out the article below, including a short summary video showing footage of NGT’s Dr Sylvia Zukowski releasing a female with eggs. It’s great to see the word being spread about this important species.

“Murray crayfish disappeared from South Australia sometime in the past 40 years. Targeted surveys over a five-year period couldn’t find them anywhere in the state. But that all changed in the winter of 2023 when our reintroduction program began. Now we’re preparing for the third release of crayfish and there are positive signs many crays from earlier releases are still going strong.”
Nick Whiterod, January 24, 2025 The Conversation

This project is a joint partnership between NGT and Murraylands and Riverland Landscape Board with support from NSW DPI Fisheries, RMMAC, North West Aquaculture, PIRSA, CSIRO and SARDI.