Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2019L00106:body:0:p34
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2019L00106
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 90243–93060

the merged slopes/upland/montane zone (MDBA 2017). SRA1 and 2 recorded two and one Macquarie perch individuals at 21 sites across the Goulburn River catchment in 2005 and 2008 respectively (Davies et al., 2008; 2012). The two recorded in 2004 were within the upland zone, the one recorded in 2007 from the lowland zone (Davies et al., 2008; 2012). SRA rarity scores for the species in the Goulburn River catchment were: common in the lowland and slopes zones, and; common in the merged upland/montane zone (MDBA 2017).
For the Campaspe River catchment, historical research indicates that, for the lowland and slopes zones, Macquarie perch had declined in the years leading up to the early-1940s, such that translocations to the Coliban River (a tributary of the Campaspe River) from the Broken River were made in 1936 and 1962 (Cadwallader 1981; Trueman 2011). Only a very small percentage of the catchment is classified in the montane zone and waterfalls, such as Mitchells and Coliban falls, are considered to have blocked access of larger native fish species, including Macquarie perch, to upland zones and higher (Trueman 2011). The estimate of Macquarie perch abundance at the time of European settlement for the Campaspe River catchment was rated as common from the lowland zone and abundant in the slopes zone; and absent from the upland and montane zones, probably as a result of the presence of Mitchells and Coliban falls (Trueman 2011). SRA1 and 2 recorded no Macquarie perch in surveys at 21 sites in 2006/07 and 2009 across the Campaspe River catchment (Davies et al., 2008; 2012). SRA rarity scores for the species in the catchment were: occasional in the lowland; common in the slopes zone, and; rare in the merged upland/montane zone (MDBA 2017).
For the Loddon River catchment, historical research indicates that, for the lowland and slopes zones, Macquarie perch had declined in the late-1800s until they were virtually extinct by the 1930s (Trueman 2011). The Loddon River catchment is considered to have undergone the most severe environmental disturbance of all Victorian catchments during the Victorian Gold Rush years (circa 1850–1900), due to its proximity to the Victorian goldfields and the consequences of mining sludge and tailings being discharged into its waterways, and the impacts from increased siltation from the introduction of hydraulic sluicing of alluvium loosing massive quantities of topsoil in the Castlemaine district (Scott 2001). There have been recent stockings of the species into Expedition Pass Reservoir near Castlemaine in the upper catchment (Gray 2010; Vic DEPI 2014a; 2014b; Vic DEDJTR 2015b; VFA 2017). The estimate of Macquarie perch abundance at the time of European settlement for the Loddon River catchment was rated as rare from the lowland zone and abundant