Fish in Australia - Freshwater Fish

Freshwater Fish

The Australian continent, which is larger than the continental United States, has relatively few freshwater fishes, only some 280 species or so. A large proportion of these species are endemic to Australia. Australia is unique in that the Percicthyidae (Temperate Perches) family and other families suspected in reality to lie within it (e.g. Gadopsidae, Nannopercidae) have risen to prominence in and dominate many of its freshwater systems, in contrast to the Northern Hemisphere where freshwater fish faunas are overwhelmingly dominated by the Cyprinidae (Carp) family. (Not a single Cyprinid species is native to Australia. Unfortunately due to the illegal introduction of Carp (Cyprinus carpio) the Cyprinidae family is now present in a destructive form in Australia.) The Galaxiidae have also risen to unusual prominence in Australia, with the bulk of the world's Galaxias species found in Australia and its neighbouring land mass New Zealand.

The most important freshwater system in Australia is the Murray-Darling Basin which drains approximately 13% of the continent and is home to some of Australia's most significant freshwater fish species including the iconic Murray Cod, Australia's largest.

Australian freshwater fish have not fared well since European settlement of Australia in 1788. The majority of Australian freshwater fishes are poorly understood and are under threat due to human activities such clearing of riparian vegetation and siltation associated with agricultural practices, snag removal, overfishing, river regulation through dams and weirs, introduced fish and diseases. Two native fish populations that may have been separate species or sub-species, Richmond River Cod and Brisbane River Cod, have already been lost, and a number of other species are listed as endangered or critically endangered.