The Wimmera CMA land management group's most recent electrofishing surveys have brought back promising results for the region's marine biodiversity.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The latest results have found the presence of threatened western swamp crayfish in Wimmera's waterways, including juvenile ones and mothers carrying eggs.
The group said the find was exciting, considering the western swamp crayfish was first discovered in the Wimmera region four years ago.
The survey also found a healthy number of southern pygmy perch and obscure galaxias fish, indicating a healthy level of biodiversity despite low water levels.
READ MORE:
Wimmera CMA Planning and Policy Officer Greg Fletcher said that spotting the species was a good sign that environmental water conservation was working.
"Western swamp crayfish are not all that common, that makes them a priority for us. They serve a purpose in the ecology as well," he said.
"A great thing that we have seen with environmental water flows is that the crayfish have been breeding and moving downstream, so that's great to see."
The western swamp crayfish has been listed as 'threatened' under the Victorian Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988.
The species has a restricted distribution due to its habitat being primarily swampy waters, which have been drained for agricultural and pastoral use.
Unlike yabbies, Western Swamp Crayfish do not burrow when pools dry out and are more susceptible to periods of drought.
The fish were found in refuge pools made by the Wimmera CMA during dry weather seasons to protect marine life and move the animals further along stream when rain comes.
Refuge pools provide a habitat to native fish that can be monitored and provided for outside of the environmental flow of water.
Wimmera CMA have taken a proactive approach to maintaining their refuge pools after a series of dry years have lowered water levels.
"It has been so dry around the last several years, we are trying to emphasise how prudent we are around watering," Greg Fletcher said.
"We saw in 2018 water levels were quite low in Lake Wartook and we had to be quite cautionary in our reaction."
Did you know you can receive updates straight to your inbox? To make sure you're up-to-date with news from across the region, sign up below.