AngleseA RiveR Estuary Management Plan 2012-2020Des

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Fish of the Anglesea River estuary

Short-finned Eel (NA)

Brided Goby (NA)

Black Bream (adult) (DEPI)

Fish survey information for specific purposes

Following the acidification events of late 2010 and early 2011 the Arthur Rylah institute was requested to undertake a survey to determine the fish present. This has given some insight to the impact and recovery of the system to acid water events.

The short report accompanying the data stated “The fish assemblages of estuaries are highly dynamic, change seasonally and may be resilient to disturbance events”. This type of resilience is favourable given the regular acidic episodes in the Anglesea River.

More species and individuals were sampled in November 2011 than on previous occasions. The number of species detected in the Anglesea River estuary in November 2011 (17 species) was higher than that of several nearby estuaries sampled over the same period including Aire River (10 species), Gellibrand River (7 species) and Kennett River (10 species).

Details of survey

A combination of electro fishing and netting techniques was used across multiple surveys to gain an accurate understanding of the fish species and population levels present. Without long-term surveys using similar methods there is not a lot of comparative data. But results showed a trend of recovery over a 12-month period:

• October2010foundanabsenceorverylownumbersofseveralrecreational species of fish (black bream, WA salmon, yellow-eye mullet).

• Autumn2011,usingelectrofishingandnettingsurveys,increasednumbers of bream, WA salmon and yellow-eye mullet were found. The number of species observed was similar to those of other nearby estuaries at that time using the same sampling technique.

• November2011,surveyswererepeatedexclusivelywithmoreversatilenetting gears (less contingent on environmental conditions than electro fishing). Numbers of species and individuals of many species, including black bream, WA salmon and yellow-eye mullet, were higher than those sampled with netting in autumn 2011.

• Theabsenceofequivalentdatapriortothefishkilleventsof2010makesit difficult to draw firm conclusions about the recovery of fish fauna in the Anglesea River estuary.

Neil Armstrong

• SpottedGalaxias

• Short-finnedEel

• BridledGoby

• TamarRiverGoby

• FlatheadGudgeon

Glenelg-Hopkins CMA

• Tupong

DEPI

• Marblefish

• BlackBream(juvenile)

• BlackBream(adult)

• Cobbler

Corangamite CMA

• Flounder

Black Bream (juvenile) (DEPI)

Marble Fish (DEPI)

Common Galaxid (NA)

Tupong (GHCMA)

Cobbler (DEPI)

Flounder (CCMA)

Flathead Gudgeon (NA)

Spotted Galaxid (NA)

Bridled Goby (NA)Tamar River Goby (NA)

Fish of the Anglesea River estuary

Common name

scientific name

Descriptioneggs

Recreationally important

spawning period/location

Black Bream

Acanthopagrus butcheri

Black bream complete their entire lifecycle in the estuary and are well adapted to variable levels of salinity and temperature. They are omnivorous and will eat other small fish, crustaceans and plant matter. The fish usually

matureaftertwotofiveyearsandspawninSpringorSummer,releasingtheeggsatthehalocline(theboundarybetweenthefreshandsaltwater.Juvenilesusuallyinhabitthebottomoftheestuary.Blac

kbreamarean

extremelypopularspeciesforrecreationalangling.

Float at halocline, laid on substrate

Yes Spring-Summer

SouthAustralian Cobbler

Gymnapistes marmoratus

CobblersaremostlyfoundininshorewatersofsouthernAustralia.Theyusuallyliedormantduringthedayandfeedatnight.Juvenileseatsmallcrustaceanswhileadultseatotherfish.Theyhavevenomo

usspines

located in their dorsal fins which can sting humans wading in estuaries.

No August-September

Eastern BlueSpotGoby

Pseudogobius sp.

TheEasternBlueSpotGobyisasmallfishwhichgrowsuptosevencentimetresinlength.Itusuallyinhabitsthemuddybottomsandseagrassbedsofbrackishestuariesandhasalsobeenknowntomove

upintothe

freshwater verges of estuarine systems. They feed on small crustaceans and algal matter in the sediment of river beds.

Benthic No Unknown

Flounder Rhombosolea tapirina

FlounderaredistributedthroughoutthecoastalwatersofNewSouthWalestoWesternAustraliaandusuallyinhabitsandyprotectedbaysandestuaries.Duringtheirtransitionfromlarvaetojuvenilesthe

yundergo

a process of metamorphosis where the left eye migrates across their body. They predominantly feed on marine worms, invertebrate eggs and mollusc larvae.

Unknown Yes Unknown

Marble Fish

Aplodactylus arctidens

Marblefish(alsocalledSouthernseacarp)liveamongstseagrassbedsandrockyreefsinSouth-EasternAustraliaandNewZealand.Theyfeedonalgaeandsmallinvertebrates.

Unknown No Unknown

SmoothToadfish

Tetractenos glaber

ThesmoothtoadfishisendemictoAustraliaandNewZealandandiscommonisestuariesandembayments.Theyfeedoncrabsandmolluscsandwilloftenfollowthetideintoestuaries.Itisnotaspecies

targeted

by anglers as the flesh is poisonous.

Pelagic No Unknown

SpottedGalaxid

Galaxiastruttaceus

SpottedGalaxids,alsoknownasmountaintroutandspottedminnows,areasmallfishfoundincoastalstreamsacrosssouthernAustralia.Theyofteninhabittheareasclosetobankswithplentyofvegeta

tioncoverand

rock and wood cover. They mostly feed on insects throughout the entire water column which puts them in competition with the introduced Brown Trout.

Freshwater on stream margins above water level

No June-July

Tasmanian Blenny

Parablennius tasmanianus

TheTasmanianBlennyisacommonfishregularlyfoundinrockpoolsandshallowestuariesthroughoutTasmaniaandSouthernAustralia.Theytendtoinhabitseagrassbedsandmuddysubstrateswheret

heyfeed

on small crustaceans and worms.

Demersal, lays eggs in pebble nests

No Unknown

Bridled Goby

Arenigobius bifrenatus

Bridled gobies are widely found throughout southern Australia. They have a habitat preference for the sandy or muddy bottoms of bays and estuaries. They burrow themselves into the sediment where they feed

on invertebrates.

Demersal, lays eggs in burrows

No Spring-Summer

Common Galaxid

Galaxiasmaculatus

CommonGalaxidshaveahightoleranceforsalinityandarehenceextremelywidespread,beingfoundasfarawayasSouthAmericaandNewZealand.Theyarecarnivorousfeedingoninsects,crustaceans

andmolluscs.

They lay their eggs on the edge of estuaries when inundated by high tides. The eggs are out of water for two weeks until high tides again cover them and the larvae hatch.

Terrestrial vegetation on the edge of estuaries

No March-June

Flathead Gudgeon

Philypnodon grandiceps

Flathead Gudgeon are found in both freshwater and brackish estuarine environments. They feed on small fish, crustaceans and insects. They lay their eggs in inland waters, attached to rocks or logs. Inland waters

No LateSpring-earlySummer

Luderick Girella tricuspidata

Luderick are often found in areas with abundant plant life such as rocky reefs and sea grass beds in estuaries. They mostly feed on algae and small invertebrates. They spawn near estuary entrances.

The larvae then move into the estuary proper to live amongst shallow seagrass beds.

Pelagic Yes Winter

Short-finned Eel

Anguilla australis Short-finnedeelspredominantlyliveasadultsinfreshwaterstreamsandlakes.Oncetheyreachsexualmaturity(14-24years)theymigratetotheseawheretheytraveltodeepoceanicbreedingsitestosp

awn.

The larvae travel back on ocean currents to coastal waters before metamorphosing into glass eels and migrating back into estuaries.

Openocean Yes SummertoAutumn

SouthernLongfin Goby

Favonigobius lateralis

TheSouthernLongfinGobylivesthroughoutsouthernAustraliaonsandybottomswithinestuariesandembayments.

Benthic No September-November

Tamar River Goby

Afurcagobius tamarensis

Tamar River Gobies are found throughout south eastern Australia. They burrow into the sandy/muddy bottoms of estuaries and coastal streams. The females lay adhesive eggs on rocks and wood matter. Benthic No Spring

Tupong Pseudaphritis urvilli

Tupong are common throughout coastal streams of southern Australia. They have a broad diet of aquatic insects, benthic worms and crustaceans. Adults migrate to the tidally influenced parts of estuaries to spawn,

layingtheireggsinsandy,weedyareas.Whenthejuvenileshatchtheymoveupstreamandspendninemonthswithintheestuary.

Demersal Yes September-December

Western Australian Salmon

Arripis truttaceus WesternAustralianSalmonoccurinwatersfromnorthofPerthtothewesternpartsofVictoriaandTasmania.Adultscongregateinlargeschoolsalongexposedbeacheswhilejuvenilesutiliseshallowbay

sandestuaries

as nursery areas. They eat mostly small fish and are predated on by sharks and dolphins. They are also a very popular recreational angling species.

Pelagic/ Coastal

Yes February-June

Yellow-eye Mullet

Aldrichetta forsteri

WidelydistributedfromnorthofSydneytoSharkBayinWesternAustraliaYellow-eyemulletinhabitthesandybottomsandseagrassbedsofestuariesandembaymentsaswellasthegreaterwatercolum

n.

They feed on a wide range of food including detritus, invertebrates and algae. They spawn large numbers of free floating eggs in both estuaries and the open ocean.

Free floating Pelagic/ Estuarine

Yes LateSummer-Winter

Fish of the Anglesea River estuary