We may have seen the Murray-Darling Basin's first fish extinction

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A freshwater perch could be the first fish species driven to extinction in the Murray-Darling Basin. Without drastic action to restore the river's health, experts fear the Yarra pygmy perch will be the first, but not the last species to disappear from the system.

ABC Science: Ann JonesBut the reintroduction failed to take, and in the meantime, disaster struck some of the reserve dams where the fish were being kept, according Nick Whiterod, who has been involved with the rescue attempt.

"The water level [in the dams], just one summer I got a call from the land owner and he said 'it's plummeted'. So it dropped probably 4 metres down to a metre," Dr Whiterod said.That was about three years ago. Dr Whiterod said they hadn't got any fish back from there since.They were able to salvage some of the Yarra pygmy perch in the dams and they have been trying to breed numbers up again in captivity, but Dr Whiterod describes the situation as"precarious".

The long-term hope is to be able to attempt another reintroduction of the fish into the Murray-Darling. But in the time that they've been keeping the breeding stock alive, inbreeding has significantly reduced the genetic diversity of those remaining fish. This, together with small numbers of fish, and the previous failure of the reintroduced fish to survive, mean hope is fading, according to Dr Wedderburn."We'll probably have another year or so at the most to get these fish that are in captivity bred up to reintroduce into the wild."

 

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I’m honestly surprised that this would be the first. Timeliness of this article is also interesting

I know that I will remember this at the ballot box, but I doubt that many other people will even know that it's an issue.

Pure disgust at those who have enabled this..

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Govt announces $70million Murray-Darling package | Sky News AustraliaThe federal government will announce a $70 million package to try and improve the health of the Murray-Darling River and prevent further fish deaths. \n\nHundreds of thousands of fish washed up dead in the Murray-Darling, the longest river system in Australia, in December 2018 and January 2019. \n\nThe government is expected to pledge $20 million towards water management research and $10 million towards restocking fish species. \n\nThe Bureau of Meteorology says the conditions of the Murray-Darling are the worst they've been in a century. \n\n\n\n\n Wat about the public hospitals waiting for 4-6hrs at the northern hospital After now that they sold the water to their mates The govt literally got told by experts how much water the river system needed to be healthy and they got told a minimum number to maybe be OK and they gave the river a fraction of that....no prizes for guessing which muppet. This is a bandaid on an open wound.
Source: SkyNewsAust - 🏆 7. / 78 Read more »

Govt announces $70million Murray-Darling package | Sky News AustraliaThe federal government will announce a $70 million package to try and improve the health of the Murray-Darling River and prevent further fish deaths. \n\nHundreds of thousands of fish washed up dead in the Murray-Darling, the longest river system in Australia, in December 2018 and January 2019. \n\nThe government is expected to pledge $20 million towards water management research and $10 million towards restocking fish species. \n\nThe Bureau of Meteorology says the conditions of the Murray-Darling are the worst they've been in a century. \n\n\n\n\n Wat about the public hospitals waiting for 4-6hrs at the northern hospital After now that they sold the water to their mates The govt literally got told by experts how much water the river system needed to be healthy and they got told a minimum number to maybe be OK and they gave the river a fraction of that....no prizes for guessing which muppet. This is a bandaid on an open wound.
Source: SkyNewsAust - 🏆 7. / 78 Read more »