Reassessing Macquarie Perch populations and habitat in Mannus Creek: Final report

The Macquarie perch (Macquaria australasica Cuvier 1830) is a nationally endangered, medium-sized fish that was once widespread throughout the southern Murray–Darling Basin. There is currently only one remaining population of the species in the NSW Murray management unit, within Mannus Creek in the Upper Murray region. The recent 2019/20 bushfires burnt the entire 9km stretch of Mannus Creek that contains the threatened population of Macquarie perch. The impacts of these fires on the Mannus Creek Macquarie perch population have not been formally investigated thus far.
The project objectives were:
1. Mapping the habitat of the Mannus Creek to allow for comparisons with the previous 2017/18 (i.e. pre-fire) habitat mapping.
2. Surveying the creek for numbers of Macquarie perch and other fish both native and nonnative, to allow for comparisons with the previous pre-fire surveys in 2017/18.
3. Capturing and removing non-native fish from the Macquarie perch reach of Mannus creek through netting and electrofishing.
4. Producing a site management plan for the Mannus Creek Macquarie perch population postbushfires.