Murraylands and Riverland Landscape Board and Nature Glenelg Trust, working with Zoos SA, recently released fifty Southern purple-spotted gudgeons into a waterhole at Monarto Safari Park. The project aims to reintroduce the species to the Murray-Darling Basin and the waterhole is part of a network of Southern purple-spotted gudgeon breeding sites.
Zoos SA’s Conservation Ecologist, Paul Kotz, said “Many small native fish species suffered during the millennium drought and the Southern purple-spotted gudgeon haven’t been seen in the Murray River in South Australia since.”
“Although they are a small fish, they are just as intrinsically valuable to the ecosystem as any other species and it’s rewarding to be making progress in returning this lesser-known native fish to its native habitat,” said Paul.
