Discovery of new fish species backs precautionary planning for water

Recent news of the discovery of a new species of Pygmy Perch is a great vindication of the decision not to proceed with the Water Corporation South West Yarragadee water supply project says Greens water spokesperson Alison Xamon MLC.

“The Greens were aligned with every other section of the community in the south-west in complete opposition to the South-West Yarragadee project,” Ms Xamon said.

“The large deep groundwater project would have seriously affected the fragile river habitat for these fish.  The Water Corporation acknowledged this in their project referral to the Environmental Protection Authority.”

“The very clear message being made is that any large infrastructure project has immense and sometimes unforeseen impacts.  This species of fish has a particular habitat, has evolved to cope with a specific water regime and water chemistry.  Its foraging, breeding and migration behaviours have developed over many thousands of years and may well be ill-adapted to rapid changes,” Ms Xamon said.

“Groundwater cannot be viewed simply as a large underground storage.  Any extraction of water can have complex interactions with surface waters, rivers and wetlands.  The Precautionary Principle at the heart of Environmental Protection Act decision making process demands that we consider the full and potential impacts of any large infrastructure project.”

The Centre for Fish and Fisheries Research at Murdoch University led by Dr David Morgan and Dr Stephen Beatty identified the new species in a project sponsored by the Water Corporation.