Mingoola Public School students have netted a rare Purple Spotted Gudgeon while taking part in a Waterwatch day on the Severn River, facilitated by the Border Rivers-Gwydir Catchment Management Authority (CMA).
The Purple Spotted Gudgeon is listed as an endangered species in NSW. This fish was once widespread throughout inland waters but is now extremely rare.
However, there have been sightings of the Gudgeon in the upper reaches of the Border Rivers catchment where breeding populations continue to survive.
The Gudgeon recorded by the children at Mingoola will provide an important addition to scientific knowledge about the distribution of this unusual fish.
The Waterwatch day held recently at Mingoola was organised by Iestyn Taylor from the Border Rivers-Gwydir CMA, but the school students weren’t just looking for fish.
They were also searching for water bugs and testing for salinity, pH levels, turbidity and water temperature.
Mr Taylor has established the Border Rivers Schools Waterwatch Network, made up of schools in the Border Rivers region of our catchment, to monitor water quality, biodiversity and the environmental health of local rivers, which are part of the wider Murray Darling system.
After spending the morning at Mingoola, he headed downstream to Bonshaw where he worked with an enthusiastic bunch of school students from Bonshaw Public to carry out water testing on the Dumaresq River.
“The kids particularly enjoy sampling for waterbugs. Finding, catching and identifying them is a lot of fun and depending on their sensitivity to pollution, these macroinvertebrates can tell us a lot about a waterway’s health,” said Mr Taylor who also had a lot of fun teaching his new team of water samplers.
The good news is the tests at both Mingoola and Bonshaw indicate water quality is in the healthy range for livestock, irrigation, human use and the aquatic ecosystems of the environment.
“Both rivers had all the parameters tested for what we would consider the healthy range for various uses of the water in the river, including environmental needs, recreation and agriculture,” Mr Taylor said.
He has also recently visited Boomi Public School, south west of Goondiwindi, to work with students on sampling the Boomi River, which is fed by overflow from the Macintyre.
While carrying out a water bug survey, the students also netted some small Yellow Belly, (about four centimetres in length).
“Catching these small native fish is a very good sign that they’re breeding, probably as a result of recent flows and flooding in the river,” Mr Taylor said.
If your local school would like to get involved in a Waterwatch project, contact Iestyn Taylor at the Goondiwindi office of the Border Rivers-Gwydir CMA on (07) 4671 4302, or email iestyn.taylor@cma.nsw.gov.au
Water sampling equipment is also available for loan to landholders. Contact Mr Taylor to find out more information.
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