‘Back from the brink of extinction’

Great news has emerged from Victoria, Australia, as a once-extinct fish, the olive perchlet, has been released back into the wild for the first time since the species’ last sighting in 1929.

Shenandoah Bruce, program manager of North Central Catchment Management Authority, told ABC Mildura-Swan Hill News they “released 200 olive perchlets into Cameron’s Creek in Gunbower National Park.”

After being bred in captivity, the population has come “back from the brink of extinction” as part of a much larger effort to return the species to the wild across wetlands.

The deterioration of wetlands and the introduction of invasive species are some of the reasons the tiny olive perchlet’s population dwindled toward extinction. Sam Fawke of the Victoria Fisheries Authority, which worked to breed the fish, said the fish played an essential role in the food chain.

“If we see these species across the board disappear, a lot of them are these small-bodied species, then we’re going to see a major effect for the rest of those food webs,” he told ABC.

Researchers said the species eats smaller aquatic pests and is a food source for water birds, meaning their population maintains balance within the wetlands.

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Now, with the species back in the wetlands, the ecosystem is bound to thrive, especially since the fish have been released into protected areas under the conservation of Gunbower National Park.Each wild animal plays a vital role in preserving the environment. If one disappears, so does a food source for another species, which could cause an imbalance due to too much or too little of a different species. With a previously obsolete species back from extinction to revitalize a disproportionate ecosystem, there’s more hope to be found.

“Now that we know olive perchlet thrive in surrogate wetlands and we have a backup population, we can now target more wild sites for releases,” said Fawke.

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