The discovery of thousands of eastern freshwater cod spawn inside a specially designed nesting box was the culmination of years of work by NSW Local Land Services and the Department of Primary Industries.
While evidence of cod breeding was found in only one box, Mr Morris said that one success will make a significant difference to the wild population of which there is thought to be less than 250 adult cod.
The eastern freshwater cod is one of four freshwater cod species in Australia listed as either vulnerable or endangered by the federal government.
Mr Morris is confident the recent success in breeding wild eastern freshwater cod could help efforts to save the other species.
“Any benefit that we get to the breeding outcomes of eastern freshwater cod will extend to Murray cod, trout cod, and hopefully Mary River cod as well,” Mr Morris said.
Tangentially related, but apparently the Brisbane River used to have a cod in the 1900s that was destroyed by over fishing and habitat loss (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brisbane_River_cod).
It would be nice if this one can be saved. Some sort of proof we’re acting more responsibly perhaps.
Also related, the Mary River Cod is also about to be placed on the critically endangered list, it was in an article I posted a few days ago.
I work the Mary River in spots and the large Eucalyptus have been logged out in the riparian zones. You can see fragments of huge logs in the water, making islands, built into the banks preventing erosion etc. All the snags have been blasted out and nothing remains to replace them. So much catchment has been cleared, the Mary River is an eroding drain of high volume water. Fucking cows and now Grazon like it’s irrigation.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Beneath the surface of the Nymboida River in northern New South Wales lies an invention that has reignited hope for the survival of a native endangered species.
The discovery of thousands of eastern freshwater cod spawn inside a specially designed nesting box was the culmination of years of work by NSW Local Land Services (LLS) and the Department of Primary Industries (DPI).
Before the boxes were deployed into the Nymboida, Mr Morris teamed up with Brendan Ebner and scientists from the DPI’s hatchery at Grafton to develop and experiment with different designs.
As a volunteer with not-for-profit fish habitat restoration program OzFish, Ms Cockbain is excited about the potential of the cod hotel to help the species repopulate after natural disasters.
Mr Morris and Dr Ebner are also looking at adapting the nesting box into hollowed-out logs that can be installed on private properties along riverbanks to prevent erosion, as well as alternative breeding space.
He said the eastern freshwater and Murray cod are at the top of the food chain in their respective river systems, making efforts to save them crucial.
The original article contains 628 words, the summary contains 177 words. Saved 72%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
