Tracking Mulloway life cycles

A community group based out of Mount Gambier is monitoring the interstate movement patterns of Victorian Mulloway.

For the past three years, Nature Glenelg Trust has investigated broad-scale movement patterns of Mulloway with the Mulloway Tagging Project.

The DNA results from the first part of the study have shown that the Mulloway in the south-west Victorian estuarine system are part of the same sub-population as those in the Coorong, South Australia.

The tagging has shown that some of the individuals are moving back to the Coorong to breed which is a significant finding for fisheries managers, and will allow for better ongoing planning and management of the species.

‘Understanding the connectivity and movement patterns of Mulloway between estuarine nursery habitats and marine waters is particularly essential to interpreting population structures and obtaining a more complete picture of the species life history,’ explained Mark Bachmann, Principle Ecologist and Manager at Nature Glenelg Trust.

Anglers across Victoria and South East SA have been encouraged to be on the lookout for tagged Mulloway. If caught, anglers are asked to return these tagged fish to the water to enhance the project data. The tags include an email and phone number for anglers to call to report the capture, the fish measurement, and the location of the capture.  The project also has its own Facebook page where data and photos are shared.

‘The ‘citizen scientist’ approach in which anglers have been encouraged to play a direct role in gaining a better understanding of the fish has supplied the Nature Glenelg Trust with a research army. It also ensures greater knowledge and ownership of the aims of the project, and allows anglers to feel they are playing a direct part in securing a better future for the Mulloway,’ Mark said.

For more info visit natureglenelg.org.au