Award-winning student unlocks fishy secrets of Australia’s largest dryland river

NSW Department of Primary Industries’ (DPI) Director of Fisheries Management, Dr Nick Rayns, today presented the annual John Holliday Student Conservation Award to Craig Boys, a PhD student from the University of Canberra.

“Mr Boys won the award for his research into associations between freshwater fish and their habitats in Australia’s largest dryland river, the Barwon-Darling,” said Dr Rayns said.

“The Barwon-Darling, which stretches from Mungindi in the northwest through to Wentworth in the southwest, has been largely unstudied, so Craig’s work is filling vital gaps in our knowledge about this river system in the far west of NSW.

"Mr Boys’ research will greatly improve our understanding of the critical issues affecting the Barwon-Darling’s native fish populations and help support on-the-ground work that is needed to ensure their long-term survival.”

The research has helped determine the best scale to map and document fish habitat for rehabilitation purposes in dryland rivers, to promote native fish recovery, and provides detailed information on the relationship between fish and their habitat within this river system.

“Results of the study will be used by various bodies to target fish habitat restoration efforts that promote the recovery of native fish stocks, including threatened species such as silver perch. “

Out of a total of 5526 fish they were recorded during the research 86% were native and 14% were alien species. These ratios indicate a much healthier native fish population than from the Lachlan, Murrumbidgee and Murray Rivers where past sampling has found only 20% of the catch was native. 

“While these results are encouraging, more needs to be done to rehabilitate flows, habitat and fish passage to ensure the sustainable management of native fish.”

Entrants are judged by a panel, comprising two senior researchers from NSW DPI, the commercial fishing industry and a NSW conservation group.

The award program is presented in memory of the late Dr John Holliday who dedicated
26 years to working for fisheries conservation with the former NSW Fisheries, now part of the NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI). The winning entry attracts a cash prize of $2,000 and a Certificate of Achievement.

All post-graduate students currently enrolled at an Australian university and completing fisheries conservation-related research in NSW are eligible to enter the award program. Entries for 2005 close on 25 November 2005.

Details on the Award program can be found here.

Media contact: Kelly Stevens 8289-3949 or 0438 247 571