Scientists decry deaths of endangered lungfish
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Leigh Dayton, Science writer
July 06, 2009
SCIENTISTS worldwide are outraged by the death of scores of Australian lungfish, the oldest living link to the first animals to walk on land.
Experts estimate that only a few thousand lungfish, or Neoceratodus forsteri, remain in rivers and streams around the Burnett River catchment of southeast Queensland, including the Mary River, site of the proposed Traveston Dam.
Queensland Bulk Water Supply Authority, trading as Seqwater, confirmed to The Australian that it released water from the North Pine Dam twice last month, after unusually heavy rainfall.
After the spills, residents found more than 40 dead or dying lungfish in a short stretch of riverbank below the dam wall.
“It’s outrageous,” Macquarie University evolutionary biologist Jean Joss said. “It wouldn’t happen if they were koalas.”
Professor Joss said international scientists had expressed concern to her over the incident.
According to Professor Joss, Australia’s sole species of lungfish is the most primitive of the world’s five remaining species of lungfish, the first animals to “walk on fins” and breathe air.
A spokesman for Tim Mulherin— the Minister for Primary Industries, Fisheries and Rural and Regional Queensland — said the department would talk to the Environment and Resource Management Department and Seqwater to “identify if there are ways of releasing water from the state’s dams that may minimise fish losses”.
Scientists say the lungfish provides a unique opportunity to study the genetic and physiological adaptations that made life on land possible.
Professor Joss said lungfish genes might lead to a greater understanding of human physiology. “A lot of the genetic material I ship (to overseas laboratories) is for study of lung disease,” said Professor Joss, who has bred the fish in her laboratory.
The lungfish deaths came 2 1/2 years after then Queensland deputy premier Anna Bligh met Professor Joss to discuss ways to conserve the fish should the Traveston Dam go ahead, destroying critical lungfish habitat.
stevem
Yesterday’s lungfish kill below North Pine Dam is a damning indictment of the state government’s conservation record on this iconic and vulnerable species. Following the release of water from the North Pine Dam, more than forty dead and dying lungfish were found in just one short stretch of riverbank below the dam wall. It is not known how many more dead would be found washed further downstream.
According to Save the Mary River Co-ordinating Group Secretary, David Kreutz who made the grim discovery yesterday, “the lungfish were up to 1.5 metres in length and were either already dead or very near to death and displayed absolutely horrific injuries.” Mr Kreutz said that although the incident was reported to authorities there had been no rescue or investigative effort mounted on the day the discovery was reported.
“This should be a national outrage. Statements from the government yesterday of “up to 100 native fish went with the release, including around 12 lungfish”, are a gross understatement of the facts. It makes an absolute mockery of the state government’s pledge that it can mitigate the effect that dams have on this ancient fish. Going on these North Pine Dam fish kills, there’ll be absolute mayhem for lungfish when the Burnett River’s Paradise Dam eventually overflows, with its far worse “stepped” spillway.”
“To then lumber the Mary River with a Traveston Dam lungfish and turtle killing device would be just the last straw for this species,”Mr Kreutz said. “ This is a fish that is absolutely unique to just a couple of rivers in Queensland, but our state government seems to act like there’s plenty more where they came from.”
He added that as well as dead lungfish, there were hundreds of bass, yellowbelly and catfish damaged from the spillway fall or stranded in the pools that will dry up in the next few days. “This is the third such event resulting directly from the operation of North Pine Dam in recent months, but it is the first that we have been able to get our own independent documentary evidence.”
“When is this government going face up to the fact that shallow media spin will do nothing to ensure survival for the lungfish?” said Save the Mary River Coordinating group President, Glenda Pickersgill.
“Yesterday’s tragedy graphically demonstrates what going over a dam wall does to this globally significant threatened species”
What really floored us was the delayed response from the Queensland government, with no effort made to salvage any survivors.” Ms Pickersgill said.
Dam opponents are following the upcoming legal challenge to the Paradise Dam which will be heard in the Federal Court in September.
The case, mounted by the Wide Bay Burnett Conservation Council and a coalition of Environment groups is significant because aspects of the Paradise Dam fishway are proposed as the model for the fishway on the controversial Traveston Crossing Dam, which has yet to gain either state or federal environmental approvals.
“There could scarcely be a more poignant way to drive the message home to the state government, “Dams kill lungfish. Stop wasting our money and scrap the proposed Traveston Crossing Dam”, Ms Pickersgill said.
www.savethemaryriver.com
(Lungfish were introduced into a number of rivers in south-east Queensland in 1896 in an effort to secure the species’ long term survival. It appears that only the populations in Pine and Brisbane rivers have endured. They are believed to live to around 100 years of age and the size of the ones killed today suggests they were quite old.)
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Reader Comments (1)
Lungfish impacts North Pine Dam release June 2009
Dear Commissioner,
We write to congratulate you on your recent appointment , we also write asking that you encourage SEQ Water to adhere to the requirements under Section 160 of the Draft Moreton Resource Operations Plan 2009 , to ‘assess and determine if any instance of fish stranding’ as occurred on the night of Wednesday 24th June 2009 and the day of Thursday 25th June 2009 , below the spillway of North Pine Dam , ‘is associated with the operation of the infrastructure’.
The Council has digital imagery which indicates that up to 50 Lungfish may have been destroyed. Council would greatly appreciate obtaining a copy of any detailed report from SEQ Water, to allow the Federal Government to objectively consider the validity of our claims and any evidence form the said report.
As you are no doubt aware Commissioner, due to your former connection to Burnett Water Pty Ltd, Council is currently involved in Federal Court Litigation under the EPBC Act 1999 with Sunwater, concerning the legal question of adequate and lawful protection of the Lungfish, which are an MNES under the Federal EPBC Act 1999, Council also would like to bring to your attention Commissioner, that the Federal Environment Minister does have legal representation in the proceedings.
It may now be prudent Commissioner, for SEQ Water to consider its position in respect of adequate protection of the species, where it occurs in impoundments under its direct responsibility.
Council believes that the court case will be of great benefit in ensuring that the survival of the species will be strengthened and will give direction to all government departments , Agencies and Corporations , for meeting their ‘duty of care’ for protecting this wonderful prehistoric , iconic Queensland species .
Council believes the species should be accorded the same recognition as many of the ‘Icons’ listed in the Q150 programme. As a community, which includes citizens employed by Agencies , Departments and Corporations under direct control of the Queensland government , it behooves us to consider that an Icon of ‘International biodiversity significance’ , should have the same level of importance as the ‘human use of water’ for the community.
Council has an environmental history of nearly 4 decades, including a decade of intimate involvement with the Paradise Dam issue. Council hopes that a much shorter ‘time frame’ for adequate protection of the species in SEQ impoundments will occur.
Council looks forward to assisting SEQ Water to achieve positive improvements to the management of the species within impoundments in the SEQ Bioregion.
Yours environmentally
Roger M Currie
Vice President
Water Policy Officer
For and on behalf of WBBCC .