Original story by Brian Williams, The Courier Mail
SCIENTISTS fear a fish species introduced to Queensland’s iconic western rivers could become another environmental pest.
Although sleepy cod (Oxyeleotris lineolata) is a native species found on the eastern fall of the Great Dividing Range, it risks upsetting the ecological balance in the western rivers.
Sleepy cod have been found in the Thomson River from Windorah north to Longreach and are likely to be in the Barcoo.
The cod is a native species but found naturally only on the eastern fall of the Great Dividing Range, from Rockhampton north and into the Gulf of Carpentaria.
Fisheries biologist Adam Kerezsy said cod had been promoted as an aquaculture species and were likely released from a property or fish farm.
“They are a gudgeon; a big, carnivorous thing with a big mouth that sits on the bottom and waits for stuff to come past which it eats,’’ Dr Kerezsy said.
“The fact they are a native species is immaterial. They are not meant to be in this part of Australia and if something like this is introduced, it can well be to the detriment of other species.’’
Sleepy cod sit on the river bottom, waiting for something edible to pass by.
Dr Kerezsy said the real danger occurred when western rivers were reduced to waterholes, allowing an introduced species to wipe out whatever was left in the billabong.
“It’s a good example of why people shouldn’t go carting animals around,’’ he said.
Dr Kerezsy said he was concerned the cod might out-compete the Cooper Creek catfish, a tasty species native to the Cooper, Thomson and Barcoo.
“In a worst-case scenario, the cod could wipe them out but this is speculative,’’ he said.
Even though the cod was a good eating species, Dr Kerezsy doubted anglers would have introduced it to the west because it was not a popular fishing species.
“They are like catching a wet paper bag,’’ he said.
Dr Kerezsy said western Queensland rivers were largely in good condition but beginning to suffer with the introduction of feral species.
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