EXPERT REACTION: Government plan to prevent fish kills

Embargoed until: Publicly released:

The Australian Federal Water Minister, The Hon David Littleproud, has today announced the release of the Native fish emergency response plan for the 2019–20 summer to help protect native fish populations from mass fish kills. Below Australian experts comment on the plan.

Organisation/s: The Australian National University, Southern Cross University, The University of Melbourne, Griffith University

Expert Reaction

These comments have been collated by the Science Media Centre to provide a variety of expert perspectives on this issue. Feel free to use these quotes in your stories. Views expressed are the personal opinions of the experts named. They do not represent the views of the SMC or any other organisation unless specifically stated.

Joint statement from Professor Lesley Head from University of Melbourne and Professor Sue Jackson, Griffith University

The Native Fish Emergency Response Plan 2019-20 is welcome, but emergency responses will become the norm rather than the exception unless the longer-term issues depleting river health are addressed. The most significant of these longer-term drivers is excess upstream diversion of water for irrigation (as concluded by The Academy of Science panel, of which we were both members).

The Native Fish Emergency Response Plan 2019-20 identifies the lower Darling as a crucial drought refuge for native fish. Yet our research shows that the lower Darling has been systematically dewatered by State and Federal government decisions for more than a century. The native title rights of Barkandji people, and their desperate pleas to save the Darling, have been consistently ignored over these years. It is past time to turn this around.

The Minister has handed over responsibility for proposed fish hatcheries in Menindee and St George to ‘our First Australians’ (Radio National, 14/10/19) as though it is a profound act of recognition. Rather, in the absence of systemic action to improve river health, they are being asked to smooth the dying pillow of their own Country

Last updated: 14 Oct 2019 4:29pm
Declared conflicts of interest:
None declared.

Professor Michael Stewardson, head of Environmental Hydrology and Water Resources in the Department of Infrastructure Engineering at the University of Melbourne

The Native Fish Emergency Response Plan identifies some practical options in a very difficult situations. However, fish deaths will still likely occur due to low flows and hot weather.

Last updated: 15 Oct 2019 12:23pm
Declared conflicts of interest:
: Michael is also a member of the MDBA Advisory Committee on Social, Economic and Environmental Science.
Professor Jamie Pittock is from the Fenner School of Environment and Society at The Australian National University

While a fish kill plan is needed, this is just short-term, band aid action. Even more rain will not be enough to restore our native fish populations. Unless fundamental problems with state governments failing to fully implement the Basin Plan are fixed then fish populations will continue to decline.


State governments need to change the rules to limit pumping by irrigators and protect environmental water flows when they cross state borders. These rules need to be included in the river by river subsidiary Water Resource Plans due from state governments in December.

State governments are not implementing their promises to enable water to spill from river channels and water floodplain wetlands, because they have not made agreements with private land holders. Unless the floodplains are watered then the forests, wetlands and fish populations will continue to decline. State governments have not yet given full legal protection to the planned environmental water that they control despite first agreeing to do so in 2004. The Federal Government should consider stepping in where states fail to implement their promises to conserve rivers.

Last updated: 14 Oct 2019 4:16pm
Declared conflicts of interest:
None declared.
Professor Caroline Sullivan is Professor of Environmental Economics and Policy at Southern Cross University

It is good to see that the federal government is recognising the increasing risks to native species and ecosystems, but it is disappointing that the amount of money allocated to this is so small that it will be virtually of no relevance to the potential scale of the problem.

While greater awareness of the need to deliver environmental water to key vulnerable river stretches and lakes is essential, this is something that cannot be treated like a man made hydraulic system – there is a time lag in ecological response so by the time an emergency is recognised, it may be too late for effective action to be taken that will make a real difference.

What is really needed is for the government to take on board the recommendations of the countless river scientists and ecologists who have for years been calling for action to deliver adequate water to river and lake systems, to ensure that long term ecological integrity can be maintained. 

Political decisions always require a trade-off, and it must be recognised, once and for all, that our ecology is what supports our nation, and all of our economic activities, so a  much higher priority must be given to this than to the short term gains of maintaining the productive output of irrigated agriculture, much of which is owned and controlled by overseas investors.

A further dimension to the disappointment one may feel about this announcement is that these fish kill problems also apply in almost every other river in the country, and once again placing emphasis on the Murray Darling Basin fails to recognise that other parts of the country also need attention, to ensure that their current and future productivity is also not threatened by over exploitation and climate change.

Last updated: 14 Oct 2019 4:15pm
Declared conflicts of interest:
None declared.

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