Is stocking barramundi (Lates calcarifer) in north-eastern Queensland a threat to aquatic biodiversity?
D. J. Russell A B , P. A. Thuesen A , F. E. Thomson A and T. N. Power A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Northern Fisheries Centre, Queensland Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, PO Box 5396, Cairns, Qld 4870, Australia.
B Corresponding author. Email: johnru2001@hotmail.com
Marine and Freshwater Research 64(10) 992-1002 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF12261
Submitted: 17 September 2012 Accepted: 23 April 2013 Published: 21 June 2013
Abstract
The stocking of predators can have significant consequences on recipient aquatic ecosystems. We investigated some potential ecological impacts of stocking a predatory fish (Lates calcarifer) into a coastal river and a large impoundment in north-eastern Australia. L. calcarifer was mostly found in slower-moving, larger reaches of the river or in the main body of the impoundment where there was abundant suitable habitat. In the tidally influenced freshwater reaches of the coastal river, L. calcarifer predominately consumed aytid and palaemonid shrimp that were associated with local macrophyte beds or littoral grasses. In this area the diets of juvenile stocked and wild L. calcarifer were similar and stocked fish displayed a high degree of site fidelity. Further upstream in the river, away from tidal influence, and in the impoundment, fish were the main prey item. Cannibalism was uncommon and we suggest that, at the current stocking densities, there was little dietary evidence of predatory impacts from L. calcarifer on species of conservation concern. We caution against introducing novel predatory species such as L. calcarifer in or near areas that are outside their natural range and are known to support rare, threatened or endangered species.
Additional keywords: conservation, fish stocking, predation, Queensland Wet Tropics, sea bass, stock enhancement, tropical impoundment.
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