Guiding the strategic management of freshwater fish

Project start date: 01/04/2023
Project end date: 15/04/2026
NESP funding: $600,000 (GST-exclusive)

Native freshwater fish are facing a range of threats – especially related to changes in climate and water stress – that will likely become more frequent and intense in the future. Many species are at risk of extinction, and informed, evidence-based decisions are needed to best manage the impacts of these threats, now and in the future. This project is working closely with river managers to develop principles and approaches they can use to manage and protect freshwater fish biodiversity in rivers and streams across Victoria.

The Macquarie perch is an endangered freshwater fish native to the Murray-Darling River system, including in Victoria. Photo: BenjaminT444 / CC BY-SA 3.0.

We’re taking a strategic approach to identify cost-effective management actions for Victorian freshwater fish. This project is developing up-to-date information on where freshwater fish live, how they are affected by threats, and the costs and impacts of management actions to reduce those threats. We are complementing existing efforts by the Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning to manage the health of Victoria’s waterways, including the renewal of the Victorian waterway management strategy and Victoria’s regional waterway strategies.

Key research areas
To address these challenges and equip waterway managers and policy-makers with up-to-date information, this project is:

• developing principles and approaches that can be used to guide the prioritisation of actions to manage freshwater fish
• working collaboratively with waterway managers and other stakeholders to road-test the implementation of these principles and approaches in a regionally strategic context
• using these experiences and outcomes to update the strategic, tactical and operational guidance needed to effectively support state and regional management of freshwater fish in Victoria.

This project is working across Victoria’s freshwater rivers and streams. Also shown are Victoria’s Catchment Management Authorities.