Time’s up for alien fish in suburban Adelaide

Oaklands Wetlands, in the south-western suburbs of Adelaide, has been an important breeding habitat for some threatened native fish since late 2021. Southern Purple-spotted Gudgeon, which are critically endangered, were introduced here after many years of preparation (see our previous post). These colourful little fish are thriving, but are also threatened by alien (non-native) fish species which find their way into the wetlands and are gradually increase in number.

Recently, as part of the ongoing management of these urban wetlands, alien fish species were whisked out. Oaklands wetlands were dried by the city of Marion and NGT staff ploughed through mud to remove Carp, Redfin and Gambusia. Native fauna were rescued and placed back into the wetlands after re-filling. This management not only assists in reducing destructive alien fish numbers but also protects the native Southern Purple-spotted Gudgeon (SPSG) that have been translocated into the top wetland in the Oaklands wetlands system. SPSG have not been found throughout this area in over 100 years and the release of this species here is quite an exciting step. The SPSG are breeding and looking fat, healthy and very happy in their new surrogate home. 

This project is a joint project between NGT, Green Adelaide, City of Marion and Landscape SA.