The biggest win for the Mary River turtle was the prevention of the Traverston dam project. That would have sealed and stamped their extinction.
I know what you mean, I'm an avid angler of the local stocked freshwater impoundments, I regularly chase Murray Cod and Golden Perch at Lake Cooby and Australian Bass at Lake Cressbrook. Unfortunately none of these species will breed and spawn in a closed dam or lake situation and regular stocking of fingerlings is necessary.As a freshwater fisho, I'm no fan of man made barriers either.
The Mary River turtle - Elusor macrurus was removed from the IUCN redlist of top 25 most threatened turtle species thanks to conservative efforts by AFT breeding, head-starting and releasing over 500 captive bred specimens over a decade long project. Latest population surveys show the turtles are breeding successfully in the wild and surviving with good recruitment numbers of individulas recorded across all stages from hatchlings, juveniles, sub adults and adults. The biggest win for the Mary River turtle was the prevention of the Traverston dam project. That would have sealed and stamped their extinction.
Captive bred Mary River Turtle hatchy.
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