December 13, 2023
Photo supplied by SEA LIFE Melbourne
SEA LIFE Melbourne Aquarium have successfully released five hundred southern purple-spotted gudgeon into Cameron’s Creek near the Murray River.
In partnership with the North Central Catchment Management Authority (NCCMA), SEA LIFE Melbourne have created the perfect environment for a breeding program and house a population of the endangered fish. It’s a fantastic step towards preserving and repopulating our waterways with this small-bodied native species.
The batch of recently released ‘zombie fish’ hatched in June this year and measured just 4-5cm when released into Cameron’s Creek. The creek was chosen as a release site as it’s considered to be significant to the gudgeon’s previous natural range. It also boasts an ideal ecosystem for breeding and repopulation with an abundance of logs, plants and space.
According to SEA LIFE Melbourne, “The recent breeding process involved meticulous trial and error, incorporating thermocycles to simulate temperature changes mirroring the environmental shifts these animals would experience in the wild. A pivotal development this year was the enhanced precision in controlling temperature ranges, and the introduction of live food to their diet. This approach effectively triggered the gudgeons’ natural breeding cues, resulting in the largest brood to date.”
This is an incredible achievement as southern purple-spotted gudgeon were declared as extinct in 1998 in Victoria. In 2019, a planned draining of Reedy Lake No. 3, near Kerang, caused VRFish to raise concerns and highlight the importance of the lake to native fishers which lead to additional monitoring and the discovery of the species in the lake and Reedy Middle Lake. It is thought that increased river regulation, habitat destruction and the introduction of pest species resulted in a decline of the species in Victoria.
The southern purple-spotted gudgeon (Mogurnda adspersa) is a small-bodied, purplish brown to yellowish-brown fish; that has a rounded head and a small mouth. The fish grow up to 12cm, breed best in summer and like to live in dense reeds.
After the rediscovery of the fish in 2019, the Southern Purple Spotted Gudgeon Advisory Group was set up, with representatives and experts from the Department of Environment, Land, Water, and Planning, North Central CMA, Arthur Rylah Institute, Connections, Goulburn Murray Water, Parks Victoria, the Victorian Environmental Water Holder, and environmental services company Austral Research and Consulting.
(L-R) NCCMA’s Will Honybun and Peter Rose – SEA LIFE Melbourne’s Katherine Needham and Harrison Stephan
Release site at Cameron’s Creek
SEA LIFE Melbourne’s Katherine Needham and Harrison Stephan
Photos supplied by SEA LIFE Melbourne.
Find out more about the program via SEA LIFE Melbourne or North Central CMA.
