An exhaustive expedition in a remote NSW river has failed to find any trace of a native fish last seen in 1999, however Reflections Holidays, which helped fund the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development’s five-day quest, has vowed to help researchers continue their search and implement programs to bring other endangered species back from the brink.
Reflections, the largest holiday park group in NSW and a Crown land manager which cares for 40 holiday parks and 45 community reserves including vast waterways popular with recreational anglers, has invested $1.1M in a 10-year partnership with DPRID.
The partnership aims to better protect native fish under threat in Australian waterways, including recovery programs designed to stymie the potential extinction of species.
Reflections’ investment assisted a recent DPIRD expedition along more than 100 kilometres of the Shoalhaven River and tributaries in the NSW Southern Highlands in search of the Kangaroo River Perch, a long-lost native fish species in NSW.
No evidence of the elusive fish was found despite an intensive environmental DNA (eDNA) survey.
DPIRD Senior Fisheries Manager, Luke Pearce, said while the absence of DNA evidence of the Kangaroo River Perch did not conclusively mean the fish was gone, it added to growing evidence that the fish may no longer be present in the Shoalhaven River catchment .
“It’s not the outcome we hoped for, but it shows how important it is to invest in endangered species in Australia. We’re grateful for Reflections Holidays’ support and will continue to strive to make a positive environmental impact,” Mr Pearce said.
The next phase will see the DPIRD team analyse all Shoalhaven catchment surveys conducted since 1999, examining coverage and sampling methods to identify any remaining gaps and determine whether further surveys are justified.
DPIRD will continue to work with the local community and traditional owners, leaving no stone unturned in the quest to find this elusive and unique Australian fish.
The Reflections-DPIRD partnership comes as the NSW Government ramps up efforts to restore native fish populations, including its recent election promise to develop a 10-year recovery plan for the Trout Cod.
