Research project announced to save the Macquarie perch

By Nicola Ceccato

Jul 27, 2023

Challenge: A new research project to prevent the extinction of the Macquarie perch has been announced.

Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority will be one of several research partners involved in a research project looking at the captive breeding of the endangered native Macquarie perch.

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This collaborative new project will eventually allow fisheries to produce and release the species using hatchery broodstock, as opposed to capturing wild adult fish every season.

The $3.7 million project was officially announced this week at SEA LIFE Melbourne Aquarium by Federal Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Minister Murray Watt.

Macquarie perch was once abundant in south-eastern Australia but fish migration barriers and loss of habitat have resulted in restricted populations in fewer locations.

Current methods of breeding Macquarie perch rely on annual collection of broodfish from the wild, as experts have yet to replicate the environmental conditions for broodstock to thrive in hatcheries across several brooding seasons.

This is something Mr Watt said would vastly improve the current population of this species.

“Having the capability to reliably breed Macquarie Perch in large numbers without sourcing broodstock from the wild every season would be a major advance in the recovery of this species across its natural range in south-eastern Australia,” he said.

“This is just one of the hundreds of research projects, worth more than $166 million, the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation is investing in to benefit Indigenous, commercial and recreational fishers as well as the aquaculture industry.”

This research project will assess nutrition, hormones, the timing of breeding and other factors to understand how to consistently produce fingerlings for stocking.