STH EAST QLD - Somerset and Wivenhoe Fish Stocking Association President, Garry Fitzgerald, has put a proposal to government after the recent floods caused an upsurge of noxious fish in South East Queensland waterways. “There’s an increase in Tilapia and it’s cousin the Peal Cichlid,” he said. 

“They’re a new age fish and they’re very, very adaptive. They can change their diet, they can be predators; carnivorous. 

“They have the ability to change what they eat which gives them the ability to out compete our native fish for food, space and territory as well.” 

 Mr Fitzgerald said the stocking association was looking for government approval to take action.

“At this point we’re looking at a long term game; these fish are expanding their territory and expanding their numbers,” he said. 

“But we need to take urgent action, now, to win in the long term.

“That’s why I’ve been calling on the Minister to allow us to stock native fish in waterways where we haven’t been able to stock them before. 

“At the moment fish restocking in Queensland is just about improving recreational fishing.” 

The proposal, Mr Fitzgerald sent to the Department of Fisheries, outlines a plan to tackle the noxious fish problem, with little need for government funding. 

“Part of this proposal is that we take control of the noxious fish eradication in Queensland. 

“The departments are saying they’ve got no budget for this, but we’re proposing that we can do this on our own, self-funded with just government approval.” 

A recent University of New South Wales study found that since the March floods, Carp numbers had heavily repopulated and spread in the Murray-Darling Basin.
Mr Fitzgerald said the same problem had occurred across South East Queensland with a range of noxious fish revealing they were ‘taking over’ to the detriment of native fish. 

 “Carp numbers have remained fairly static in the Ipswich region,” he said. 

“But the Tilapia and Peal Cichlid have spread since the March floods.

“Every time there’s a flood these species will spread even further.” 

Mr Fitzgerald spent the end of May on a research boat and said the team found the predator fish in places ‘they’d never seen before’. 

And he believes there were steps which could be taken to alleviate the pressure on native fish, but fish stocking associations lacked support from the government. 

“There is absolutely so much we can do to stop these pests,” he said. 

“The Fisheries Department and the Department Of Biosecurity together are doing nothing about the noxious fish.

“What we could be doing is stocking native fish like Australian Bass and Mary River Cod on the east coast and out near Warwick, we could be stocking more Golden Perch and Murray Cod. 

“Because if we release these native fish they can help stop these predator fish going in through flood waters. 

“A healthy level of native fish will help stop those introduced fish getting a foothold in SEQ waterways.”  

Growing up at Bundamba, Mr Fitzgerald says the waterways have transformed since he was a kid. 

“I grew up on the Bundamba Creek and I used to see Jungle Perch, Bass, Mullet, Catfish and now the only species in that creek is Tilapia,” he said. 

“They’ve taken over and they’ve pretty much eaten the whole system out.” 

Mr Fitzgerald’s letter to the government is requesting a permit to release native predator fish to counteract the noxious introduced species. 

“We need to fight back by stocking native predator fish,” he said. 

“It’s been proven that by doing that on an annual basis, we can get our native fish up to a decent size and massively reduce the numbers of the introduced noxious fish and that allows all the smaller species to build their numbers as well.” 

But the fight isn’t just one for the stocking association.

Mr Fitzgerald said SEQ locals could help the fight against the pests. 

“Any noxious fish caught by locals such as Carp, Tilapia and Peal Cichlid; you’ve got to make sure you kill them,” he said. 

 “And because these fish hold their eggs in their mouth, it’s important you don’t throw them back in the water.
 “So even if you kill it and throw it back in the water, the eggs in their mouth can still massively spread. 

“You can throw a dead noxious fish in a bin, or bury it above the high water line.”