Hundreds of endangered aquatic animals that were taken from ash-clogged East Gippsland rivers to 'intensive care' in Melbourne have been returned
In a remote forest stream in East Gippsland swims a solitary Yalmy galaxia fish. She’s female, the size of an adult human finger, with mottled markings on the delicate skin of her back.
This week, with the spawning season fast approaching, scientists at the institute decided it was time to return them back to their original habitat.“It was a bittersweet moment,” says Dr Tarmo Raadik, a senior research scientist in applied aquatic ecology at the institute. “Yes, we were putting them back where they can contribute to spawning and we felt happy we were involved in a project with a really good environmental outcome. But we had become quite attached to them.
The aquatic animals were carried back to East Gippsland in aerated and insulated drums, put into smaller containers and carried to waterways, whose location is not widely known. The thick layers of ash and sediment that blanketed streams in January have washed away, but it still lies on the banks. The waterways are surrounded by burnt trees and the groundcover is yet to fully return.The animal rescue was funded as part of the state government’s $22.5 million bushfire biodiversity plan, and with funding from the federal government.
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