The Department of Environment and Science (DES) has managed to save a rare and ancient native fish from potentially becoming the first freshwater species to be lost from Queensland due to climate change.
Principal Scientist at DES, Jonathan Marshall said a new population of the river blackfish, had been established near Killarney.
“Before we did this, river blackfish were known at only one stream in Queensland,” Dr Marshall said.
He said the cold-water species, which was widely distributed millions of years ago when the climate was cold and wet, had been under increased pressure from rising temperatures and dry creeks.
“In February, a team of ecologists captured 50 river blackfish from Spring Creek in the upper Condamine River catchment, where the flow of water had almost stopped due to extreme heat and drought,” Dr Marshall said.
“After being housed in a specialised refrigerated aquaculture facility as an ‘ark’ or insurance population until natural conditions improved, the fish were released back into the wild in nearby Adjinbilly Creek, which has all the characteristics of ideal blackfish habitat.”
He said river blackfish were an ancient cold-water species that died if the water temperature rose above 28 degrees.
“As the population at Spring Creek was isolated with no chance of recolonising locally, I have no doubt the fish were at serious risk of local extinction if immediate action was not taken,” Dr Marshall said.
