Sweetwater Fishing Forums
General Category => News Views & Press Releases => Topic started by: Editor on September 04, 2014, 06:49:17 PM
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Lookout, lookout a threatened species may be about!
(http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/image/0006/528702/Purple-spotted-gudgeon-GS.jpg)
Purple spotted gudgeon
04 Sep 2014 - NSW DPI
NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) is reminding fishers, divers and other water users to be on the lookout for threatened fish species and report any sightings, as part of Threatened Species Day on September 7.
DPI Senior Conservation Manager, Dr Trevor Daly, said Threatened Species Day is a national day held each year to remember the death of the last remaining Tasmanian tiger in 1936 and promotes the importance of protecting, conserving and improving biodiversity in Australia and around the world.
"A species is listed as threatened when its numbers have declined to a point where it is at risk of becoming extinct," Dr Daly said.
"There are currently 24 aquatic species listed as threatened in NSW from both our marine and freshwater environments.
"Many of the threatened aquatic species in NSW are very well known in the community such as the Greynurse, Great White and some Hammerhead sharks, and larger fish species such as Black Rockcod in coastal waters or Trout Cod in our inland rivers and streams.
"However, there are also many small, obscure and relatively unknown threatened aquatic species that include finfish such as the Purple Spotted Gudgeon, Flathead Galaxias and Southern Pygmy Perch, as well as the crustacean known as the Buchanans Fairy Shrimp and the aquatic invertebrate, the River Snail.
"Most of these relatively unknown species have very limited distributions and now only occur in a few locations."
Dr Daly said that everyone can play a role to help prevent further declines and promote recovery of each of our threatened aquatic species.
"DPI has many projects and partnerships underway to protect threatened species including research into threatened species, the rehabilitation of fish habitat and the removal of barriers to fish passage," Dr Daly said.
"The community can help by becoming aware of what a rare fish looks like and reporting any sightings to DPI.
"This information will help us to increase our knowledge of the status and distribution of each threatened species and will add value to our fish species surveys and habitat mapping.
"Fishers can also help by not returning to the water any pest fish species they catch, especially Redfin perch and Common Carp, as predation and habitat modification by these introduced species is a major threat to our freshwater threatened fish.
"Other ways the community can help includes avoiding damage to shoreline and riparian vegetation, taking care not to transport fish, water or weeds from one waterway to another and never releasing aquarium fish into a waterway or drain."
For more information on threatened species (http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fisheries/species-protection/conservation) or to report a threatened species email fisheries.threatenedspecies@dpi.nsw.gov.au
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