Removing fish barriers

Barriers to fish movement represent a key threat to fish populations in our region.

Many of Australia's native freshwater fishes need to move in order to breed and survive.  Structures such as dams, weirs, causeways and road culverts can act like road blocks, preventing fishes from moving upstream. Even a small drop of 20cm over a causeway can stop fishes moving upstream.

When fish get stuck below a barrier they are more prone to being eaten by birds and other predators before they get the chance to breed or move to new areas.

NQ Dry Tropics is helping to build fish passages to help fish move through and around existing barriers. Although people may not see them in action, the new fishways will be silently helping many fish to survive.

To identify all the fish barriers in the region, NQ Dry Tropics commissioned a study in 2007.  More than 1,000 potential barriers were identified. From these, thirty-two were prioritised.

NQ Dry Tropics has so far removed barriers over 5,000 kilometres of waterways. All of the fishways constructed have been specifically designed for individual sites and the types of fish that need to migrate through the area.

Read here for more information on some of the fishways constructed so far.

Our Rivers

Rivers are the lifeblood of the dry tropics region. They are the conveyor belts of freshwater, nutrients, and food sources that sustain our region.

The NQ Dry Tropics natural resource management region is delineated by the boundaries of six major river basins.

These are the Belyando, Bowen Broken Bogie, Cape Campaspe, Lower Burdekin, Suttor and Upper Burdekin basins.

A river basin describes the drainage region for a single river system.