Mass fish kills catalyse improved water and fisheries management

Boys, Craig A.; Rayner, Thomas S.; Mitrovic, Simon M.; Doyle, Katherine; Baumgartner, Lee J.; Koehn, John D.

doi:10.1071/mf21346

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 14 publications

(18 reference statements)

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“…Despite being extremely easy to notice, fish kills, even very major ones, are very poorly documented (Boys et al, 2022). Nevertheless, we choose them to illustrate our point because it is unarguable that a fish kill is an adverse event.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pharmaceuticals in the Aquatic Environment: No Answers Yet to the Major Questions

Sumpter

Johnson

Runnalls

2022

Enviro Toxic and Chemistry

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The presence of pharmaceuticals in the environment, especially the aquatic environment, has received a lot of attention in the last 20 plus years. Despite that attention, the two most important questions regarding pharmaceuticals in the environment still cannot be answered. It is not possible to put the threat posed by pharmaceuticals into perspective with the many other threats (stressors) facing aquatic organisms, such as low flows due to over‐abstraction of water, inhibited passage of migratory species due to dams and weirs, diseases, algal blooms causing low oxygen levels and releasing toxins, eutrophication, climate change, and so on. Nor is it possible to identify which pharmaceuticals are of concern and which are not. Not only can these key questions not be answered presently, they have received extremely little attention, despite being identified 10 years ago as the two most important questions to answer. That situation must change if resources and expertise are to be effectively used to protect the environment. Environ Toxicol Chem 2022;00:1–6. © 2022 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pharmaceuticals in the Aquatic Environment: No Answers Yet to the Major Questions

Sumpter

Johnson

Runnalls

2022

Enviro Toxic and Chemistry

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“…Modern screens perceived to have a short lifespan. Production of published guidelines [15] and design specifications for modern fish screens [2], in partnership with screen manufacturers. These recommend the use of high-quality, stainless-steel wedge wire with a long lifespan.…”

Section: Return On Investment Perceived To Be Too Lowmentioning

confidence: 99%

Protecting fish and farms: Incentivising adoption of modern fish-protection screens for water pumps and gravity-fed diversions in Australia

Rayner,

Conallin,

Boys

et al. 2023

PLOS Water

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Modern fish-protection screens offer significant potential benefits for Australia. The Commonwealth and New South Wales (NSW) governments have invested over $30m to incentivise early adoption by water users. However, successful adoption requires an understanding of the motivations and abilities of water users, and strategies to overcome key barriers to adoption. Four practices have been used by the NSW Government to strengthen understanding of stakeholders and encourage participation in incentive programs by water users. These are: applying social learning concepts to screening programs; evaluating stakeholder needs; identifying and mapping stakeholders and their relationships; and, integrating science in communication and engagement. Analysing the motivations and abilities of water users revealed three key motivations: to save money, to protect fish, and to improve their reputation or social licence to operate. However, the ability of water users to install a fish-protection screen was found to vary significantly. A range of barriers have been identified by water users in NSW, and solutions or strategies developed to address each one. Today, in Australia, over 2,000 ML/day of water is being delivered through modern fish-protection screens, protecting ~580,000 native fish annually at 31 sites across NSW, Victoria and Queensland (60% being in NSW). Existing investment may see these numbers increase to ~7,000 ML/day and ~2 million native fish/yr by June 2024. The application of the methods to understand and strategically engage with stakeholders should enable improved uptake of screening technologies in other jurisdictions and areas of conservation concern into the future.

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