A fin-tastic new Sunshine Coast Council project is set to bring more fish swimming into local rivers with two new fishways to be installed on Petrie Creek, providing vital passage for a variety of native species.
The Council says the new fishways will allow migratory species such as long finned eels (Anguilla reinhardtii), Australian bass (Macquaria novemaculeata), freshwater mullet (Trachystoma petardi), sea mullet (Mugil cephalus) and empire gudgeon (Hypseleotris compressa) to navigate past barriers and access critical breeding habitats.
The project, funded by the Australian Government’s Natural Heritage Trust under the Urban Rivers and Catchments Program, is part of the Reviving Petrie Creek initiative which will also include work to manage weeds and litter and improve streambank vegetation.
“This fishway will revive native fish populations, improve the health of our waterways and inject more fish into our river system for recreational fisherman,” said Division 10 Councillor, David Law.
“It’s also good for other creatures – like platypus, turtles and birdlife, which will have access to more habitat and food.
“If the weirs were removed completely, water levels would drop in the creek disrupting the sensitive balanced ecosystem.”
Currently, weirs at Petrie Creek in Quota Park, Nambour and Moreton Mill, Nambour, block fish from swimming up and down the river system. This prevents native species reaching important habitats, spawning and feeding grounds upstream.
The staircase-like structures, made with rocks, will be retrofitted into the existing weirs allowing fish to bypass these barriers to access the entire waterway.
Petrie Creek is approximately 30 km long, with numerous tributaries feeding into it. The creek has two weirs which act as barriers preventing native fish movement unless there is an extreme rain event causing the weirs to flood. Council research shows this usually only happens on average 1.8 days a year. This creates a problem for fish lifecycles, as many native fish breed and feed upstream before moving to the open ocean to mature.
Once completed, the fishway will provide native aquatic species with access along the entire creek and its tributaries for up to 314 days a year.
Environment and Liveability Portfolio Councillor, Maria Suarez said that when completed, the fishways would be the first of a kind on the Sunshine Coast.
“This will open up the river system, benefiting fish, our environment, and our community.”
Completion of the new fishway is anticipated by the end of the year. The project is fully funded by the Australian Government with Council contributing in-kind support.
