A world-first captive breeding breakthrough and a series of wild stream releases have delivered a critical lifeline to one of Australia's most endangered alpine fish species.
Facing severe threats from bushfires, invasive species and habitat loss, the stocky galaxias has historically been restricted to just two known wild populations in the Snowies – until now.
Scientists at the NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) were thrilled to discover the captive-bred stocky galaxias are thriving at a reintroduction site in the Snowy Mountains.
Central to the protection initiative is a breeding program funded by Snowy Hydro, through its Snowy 2.0 Threatened Fish Management Plan, managed by DPIRD and run at Charles Sturt University's Gulbali Institute in Albury.
Gulbali Institute executive director Lee Baumgartner said scientists successfully spawned the species under artificial conditions.
"No one had ever bred stocky galaxias in captivity before," he said.
"To achieve a world first, then take those fish and put them back into the wild and see the wild population grow … it's incredible."
Dr Amina Price said seeing the species survive and mature in the wild was an "exciting" milestone.
"Our aim is to establish several secure, self-sustaining populations across the landscape, so the species is better protected if bushfire, invasive species or another disturbance affects one location," she said.
DPIRD senior fisheries manager Luke Pearce said the program's long-term goal was to mitigate environmental risks by establishing multiple self-sustaining populations across alpine waterways – in addition to Upper Tantangara Creek and Sallys Flat Creek.
Field monitoring confirms the project is already delivering promising results.
Researchers recently executed their largest wild release to date, introducing roughly 250 juveniles into target stream systems.
Subsequent recapture surveys successfully identified 10 healthy adult fish from an earlier release, proving hatchery-raised specimens are adapting and maturing in nature.
Snowy Hydro major projects environmental support manager Lizzie Pope said ongoing funding for captive breeding, biosecurity measures and habitat monitoring would build long-term ecological resilience.
"It's incredibly gratifying to be part of a program delivering real, tangible results for threatened fish species," she said.
