Destructive African fish heading for Murray
Tilapia, one of the world's worst pests, is now just 3km from the Murray Darling Basin!According to recent movements, less than three kilometres now separates the pest fish tilapia from the watershed of the Condamine catchment. The Murray Daring Basin Authority (MDBA) is urging everyone in southern Queensland and north eastern NSW to help keep this pest fish out of the northern Basin.
Listed in the top 100 of the world's worst pests, tilapia are a major threat to our native fish and freshwater environment. Most harmful to our native fish populations, tilapia compete for food and nesting space, as well as directly consuming small fish. Tilapia are also associated with poor water quality such as blue-green algae as a result of their feeding habits.
The fish occur naturally in warm fresh and brackish water in countries such as Africa, South America and India however, three main species are established in Queensland and they are thought to have come from aquarium releases.
What MDBA is doing
A tilapia leadership group has been established, comprising a broad range of concerned organisations and The Condamine Alliance, who is in charge of the Condamine catchment, is working to develop and implement the northern Basin tilapia exclusion strategy which, it's hoped, will help keep the fish out of the Basin.
The group met in February to discuss the strategy and future action. The Alliance and its staff thanked the group for their efforts in keeping tilapia out of the Basin, recognising that they are "working against what seems at times like overwhelming odds" and that "tilapia incursion into the Basin is only inevitable if we don't do anything to stop them".
Colin Mues, head of environmental management at the MDBA said: "It is critically important that everyone works together to prevent tilapia entering the northern Basin, and the fantastic work being done by the Condamine Alliance in implementing the northern Basin tilapia strategy is helping us achieve that."
The MDBA has contributed some funding to help the Alliance continue this important work.
The group also discussed the potential use of Environmental DNA (eDNA) for early detection of tilapia and also, the development of a response protocol.
Everyone agreed community education is a high priority for preventing a tilapia outbreak in the Basin and as part of this approach, 13 young people from the Condamine catchment have developed a children's book Finnley's Great Escape to help raise awareness.
Queensland and New South Wales governments have set up hotlines to report tilapia sightings.
What you can do to help
If you live in the Basin learn to recognise tilapia. One distinguishing feature is its long continuous dorsal (back) fin (whereas most native fish tend to have two dorsal fins).
Report sightings to the hotlines 13 25 23 (Queensland) or 02 4916 3877 (NSW, 24 hour).
Don't use tilapia as bait, and if you catch tilapia do not return them to the river. Most species are mouth brooders which means they carry their young in their mouth for up to two weeks after hatching. If you leave them on the river bank, they can wash back into the water. Kill them humanely, ideally by placing in ice water and ring the hotline.
Do not empty aquariums into local waterways, or down the drain.
Share the children's book Finnley's Great Escape with kids you know.
Tags
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
