The project will directly assess and address current and future threats faced by south-western Australian endemic freshwater fishes such as climate change and feral fish within the target area.  The project will use the Balston’s Pygmy Perch (BPP) fish species as a flagship species for conservation (listed as Vulnerable EPBC Act) and elevate its status to enhance public awareness of aquatic ecosystem issues. 

Goals:

·        To provide an updated distribution of BPP in the target area and determine the degree of population decline in wetlands and river sites from previously known existence (past 20 years) within the project area.

To identify dry-season refuge pools and all potential instream barriers to seasonal breeding migrations across key catchments to guide future management of current and future threats to BPP and other species.  

·         To prioritise barrier mitigation and the protection of key refuge habitats of the BPP (and other freshwater fish species) with the SWCC region.

·         To enhance aquatic ecosystem health and reduce threats to BPP and other native aquatic fauna by undertaking targeted feral fish control at four strategic sites.  

·         Use Balston’s Pygmy Perch as a flagship species to promote the conservation of freshwater ecosystems across the SW region.