A FISH species thought extinct in Victoria has made its way from the Kerang lakes to Bendigo, thanks to the intervention of some delicate hands.
The North Central Catchment Management Authority (CMA) and City of Greater Bendigo have released another 400 southern purple spotted gudgeon into a city wetland, this time at Riley Street in East Bendigo.
The small colourful native fish was declared extinct in Victoria in 1998, however, works on lakes near Kerang in 2019 discovered a small population.
Since then, through DELWP Icon Species funding, the North Central CMA, local councils, community groups, and industry leaders, have been increasing the numbers of the species, dubbed the “zombie fish”, by breeding them in dams and wetlands, including at Bendigo.
"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," North Central CMA project manager Dr Peter Rose said.
"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."
