Carp is a prized table fish in Europe but despised in Australia. How did we get here?
- Associate Professor in Ecology, Charles Sturt University
Less gold in the mines. Unrest in the camps. And a new fishery for the giant Murray cod which decimated their population. The 19th century gold rush has left a bad environmental legacy.
Floods upend the plans of humans and wildlife – but after the water calms, it’s boom time for nature.
Federal environment minister Sussan Ley said the environment doesn’t necessarily need all its water, whereas farmers do. But denying rivers even part of their water can harm their health in many ways.
Before we decide to eradicate or control an invasive species, like carp, we need plenty of scientific evidence and independent assessments first.
Floods are often seen as a force of destruction. But as river ecologists, we find it hard not to rejoice at the flooding.
Many ecosystems have changed so radically that it is no longer possible to restore them to what they once were and in other situations it is not appropriate.
Freshwater ecosystems such as rivers, lakes and wetlands are precious. They contain several-times more vertebrate species per unit area than land and ocean environments, and they are more degraded. Protected…
The Murray cod (Maccullochella peelii) is the largest native Australian freshwater fish species, and is probably the most iconic. The species’ credentials are impressive: it can live for more than 50 years…
This is part two of a series investigating the effect Murray-Darling water policy has on acquatic life. It’s told from the perspective of the new water minister, a Murray Cod called Mac Peelii, who last…
Let’s imagine for a minute that a Murray cod – let’s call him Mac Peelii - replaced Tony Burke as water minister, responsible for the Murray-Darling Basin. Apart from the obvious issues associated with…
The Murray-Darling Basin Authority’s Native Fish Strategy (NFS) is at serious risk of winding up, after NSW announced it is cutting its financial contributions. This is a serious blow to the conservation…
The proposed Murray-Darling Basin Plan has been one of the most controversial pieces of public policy in Australia’s recent history. There has been the predictable divide between irrigators calling for…
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