A new federally funded project aimed at understanding how invasive Tilapia fish are spreading across the North of Australia, was announced today.
While Tilapia was introduced into Australia in the 1970’s, it was only recently discovered in the upper Walsh River in the Gulf of Carpentaria system in Northern Queensland.
“Tilapia have the potential to spread rapidly across Northern Australia, which will have serious negative impacts on environmental, economic, social and cultural values in the region” Federal Minister for the Environment, Sussan Ley said.
$65,000 has been provided to Australian Rivers Institute at Griffith University for one year to look at where the Tilapia are currently located, where they could spread and what the potential impact could be on Northern biodiversity and fisheries.
Invasive Tilapia have been recorded in other parts of Australia and overseas, with the key impacts including loss of native fish species and declines in water quality.
The funding is part of the Department of Environment and Energy, National Environmental Science Program that is a long-term commitment to applied environment and climate science, with funding of $145 million from 2014-15 to 2020-21.