Little fish have big future

A SMALL wetland area in Bendigo East has become the focus for a conservation effort aiming to save a tiny native fish species.

Four hundred southern purple spotted gudgeon were released into ponds at Riley Street Reserve by North Central Catchment Management Authority and City of Greater Bendigo staff on Monday.

The fish were thought to be extinct in Victoria until a small population was found in the Kerang Lakes in 2018.

From there, captive breeding programs have taken place, with funding provided by the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning.

Meanwhile, a wild breeding strategy that’s seen small populations of the species established across the region as seen them dubbed ‘zombie fish’.

“We’ve been working closely with the City of Greater Bendigo to put the right habitat into a series of wetlands and dams across the city, with the aim of breeding the zombie fish up and getting their numbers strong again,” said Dr Peter Rose, project manager with the NCCMA.

“We’ll then translocate the fish to floodplain wetlands in the Murray corridor and in Gunbower Forest, which is where they thrived before river regulation and landscape and climate changes.

“Wetlands such as this one at Riley Street are great assets for the community and they’re also now playing an important role in helping these amazing fish.”

Southern purple spotted gudgeon are not the only native fish species focused on as part of the restoration program and Dr Rose said researchers were seeing successful reestablishments.

“We have populations of pygmy perch at wetlands in the Harcourt Dog Park, Crook Street, the Cadella Way wetland in Strathfieldsaye, the Number 7 Reservoir frog ponds, and Murphy Street wetland,” he said.

“During our recent monitoring we surveyed 34 spotted gudgeon and 802 pygmy perch and found that both species are breeding in our local wetlands.

“Having pygmy perch back in the Bendigo Creek system as it was before European occupation is a fantastic result, and the spotted gudgeon numbers are going from strength to strength.”