Establishing new
Barred Galaxias populations
Black Saturday, Victoria 2009 – Natural values fire recovery program – Project 14
Barred Galaxias – Galaxias fuscus
Barred Galaxias is a small freshwater fish endemic to upper headwater streams of the Goulburn River catchment, Victoria. It has a yellow-orange body colour with up to
10 black, vertical bars along the sides. They are relatively long-lived, have low fecundity and are slow growers.
Barred Galaxias is listed as Endangered under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 and is also listed under the Victorian
Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988. It has suffered severe decline in range and abundance due to impacts including trout predation and competition, bushfire and
drought. Several populations are extinct and only eleven isolated populations are known
to remain.
Barred Galaxias habitat from Lake Mountain to Mt Disappointment was burnt during the 2009 bushfires. This represents 50% of the known range of the species and
many populations in this area have been impacted by post-fire sedimentation and habitat degradation.
Image: Barred Galaxias, Galaxias fuscus. Photo: Tarmo Raadik
This project is funded by the Victorian and Commonwealth governments’ ‘Rebuilding Together’ – Statewide Bushfire Recovery plan, launched in October 2009.
The ‘National Recovery Plan for Barred Galaxias’ details the species’ distribution, ecology, threats, recovery objectives and the actions necessary to ensure their longterm survival. This project delivers several high priority actions consistent with the species’ National Recovery Plan, the Victorian Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act Action
Statement and the Actions for Biodiversity Conservation (ABC) management system.
Project Background
Establishing new populations of Barred Galaxias from bushfire impacted sites will aid species recovery.
This project involved: identifying suitable translocation sites not impacted by bushfire, that are predator-free and have a physical barrier downstream to prevent predator
access; conducting trial translocations from impacted populations to two new sites; and monitoring the survival and establishment of the translocated populations.
Key Achievements
• Over 200 potential translocation sites were identified and mapped.
• Sixty-one potential translocation sites were surveyed, mainly in the Big River Catchment.
• Thirty-six potential translocation sites were fishless, 20 contained trout, one contained Galaxias olidus (a relative of Barred Galaxias),
one site identified a significant new population of Barred Galaxias, and three were dry.
• Of the 36 fishless sites, seven had physical barriers downstream. Two of these sites were selected for trial Barred Galaxias translocations.
• The remaining 29 fishless sites require additional surveillance to locate any physical barriers downstream. These sites are
of varying catchment size and are potential future translocation sites.
• Guidelines for the translocation of Barred Galaxias were developed to establish a protocol for translocating Barred Galaxias to sites
in public waters for conservation purposes.
Barred Galaxias from Kalatha Creek and bushfire impacted Luke Creek were translocated to Shaws Creek and Taponga River respectively.
•
• Post-translocation monitoring has shown that translocated fish from both populations have survived and expanded in range at the translocated sites.
The major legacy from this project is the development of an effective translocation methodology for Barred Galaxias and a comprehensive
list of suitable and potential translocation sites. These can be used to contribute to recovery of Barred Galaxias in the future and are
important tools for the conservation of this species.
Image: Physical barrier (waterfall) located on Koala Creek. Photo: David Bryant
Image: Releasing translocated Barred Galaxias into Taponga River. Photo: Fern Hames
Published by the Victorian Government Department of Sustainability and Environment Melbourne, September 2011
© The State of Victoria Department of Sustainability and Environment 2011
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Images front page along bottom (left to right):
• Luke Creek Barred Galaxias habitat Photo: Renae Ayres
• Shaws Creek Barred Galaxias habitat Photo: Renae Ayres
• Kalatha Creek Barred Galaxias habitat Photo: Michael Nicol
For further information, please contact
Tarmo Raadik
Telephone: (03) 9450 8630
Email: tarmo.raadik@dse.vic.gov.au
www.dse.vic.gov.au