The three day River Management Workshop was held in
Townsville in March of this year. Alluvium Consulting
(Queensland) has won the tender to undertake Fish Barrier
Assessment across the entire Burdekin Dry Tropics Region and they
used the River Management Workshop to help resolve issues
concerning the highly technical nature of fish barriers.
Mr. Jason Carter, a principal at Alluvium Consulting, said,
“We have been able to attract very experienced workers to
help us develop a widely accepted methodology to adapt current
research tools to identify, prioritise and cost the remediation of
significant barriers to the movement of fish.”
“Participants in this group include very experienced Dept
Primary Industries & Fisheries staff, ecologists and engineers
from James Cook University, and practitioners from Sunfish and
catchments across North Queensland.”
“The project will improve understanding of the habitat
requirements of native fish and what is required to increase their
distribution across the region with the modification of barriers
(constructed or natural) especially in coastal areas, Dr Crawford
said. “This proposal shall increase the environmental value
of our wetlands to the community with a greatly improved fishery
and commercial value,” he added.
Workshop delegates attended a field trip to view the
successful fishway design at James Cook University where recent
surveys of have revealed that 8 native fish species have returned
to vital habitat areas previously devoid of fish for many
years.
The three day River Management Workshop was sponsored by BDTNRM
and Alluvium Consulting.
Project Contacts:
Diana O'Donnell, BDTNRM
Diana.O'Donnell@bdtnrm.org.au
Jason Carter, Alluvium Consulting Queensland,
Jason.Carter@Alluvium.com.au , mob 0429 61 0000