Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2019L00106:body:0:p32
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2019L00106
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 85250–87958

zones of the Kiewa catchment is thought to have prevented access of Macquarie perch, and other native fish species, to these higher areas (Trueman 2011). It is now considered that the species is extinct in the Kiewa River catchment. The estimate of Macquarie perch abundance at the time of European settlement for the Kiewa River catchment were rated as: abundant from the slopes zone, and; absent from the upland and montane zones (Trueman 2011). SRA1 and 2 recorded no Macquarie perch in surveys at 21 sites across the Kiewa River catchment both in 2006 and 2009 (Davies et al., 2008; 2012). SRA rarity scores for the species in the catchment were: occasional in the lowland zone, and occasional in the slopes zone, and; absent from the upland and montane zones (these zones were merged in the SRA analysis for the Kiewa River catchment) (MDBA 2017).
For the Ovens River catchment, historical research indicates that, for the upland zone, Macquarie perch and other native fish were scarce since the early-1900s, with the exception of the Buffalo River where the species remained in good populations until fish kills following extensive bushfires in 1939 (Trueman 2011). For the slopes area of the catchment, Macquarie perch declined during the 1920s and 1930s and had disappeared from many areas by the 1940s (Trueman 2011). In the lowland areas of the catchment, the species declined during the 1930s and 1940s to the point where they were scarce during the late-1940s (Trueman 2011). The montane zone in the Ovens River catchment is essentially isolated from lower elevations of the catchment by steep gradients and waterfalls at the base of Mount Buffalo and the Wabonga Plateau, and given that there is no information for larger native species in this zone, it is considered that Macquarie perch and other native species were prevented access to it (Trueman 2011). The estimate of Macquarie perch abundance at the time of European settlement for the Ovens River catchment were rated as: abundant from the lowland, slopes and upland zones, and; absent from the montane zone (Trueman 2011). SRA1 and 2 recorded no Macquarie perch in surveys at 26 sites in 2007 and 28 sites in 2010 across the Ovens River catchment (Davies et al., 2008; 2012). SRA rarity scores for the species in the catchment were: common in the lowland zone; occasional in the slopes and upland zone; and; absent in the montane zone (MDBA 2017). The species was detected in low abundances in the Buffalo River upstream of Lake Buffalo up until 2011, but there have been no surveys since (ARI pers. comm., 2017).
For the Goulburn-Broken river catchments, historical research indicates that, for the majority of this major river system,