Dam opponents protest lungfish deaths

25th June 2009

PROTESTERS say a large kill of vulnerable lungfish at a south-east Queensland dam is a national outrage.

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PROTESTERS say a large kill of vulnerable lungfish at a south-east Queensland dam is a national outrage.

The force of a torrent of water released by authorities from North Pine Dam, north of Brisbane, on Wednesday battered at least 50 of the lungfish to death.

Conservationists say some of the lungfish, whose main habitats are the Mary and Burnett rivers, were up to 1.5 metres long, indicating they could be 100 years old.

Save the Mary River Co-ordinating Group secretary David Kreutz, who made the discovery on Wednesday, said the incident was an indictment of the Queensland government, which plans another dam on the Mary River.

"Going on these North Pine Dam fish kills, there'll be absolute mayhem for lungfish when the (existing) Burnett River's Paradise Dam eventually overflows, with its far worse 'stepped' spillway," Mr Kreutz said.

"To then lumber the Mary River with a Traveston Dam lungfish and turtle killing device would be just the last straw for this species.

"This is a fish that is absolutely unique to just a couple of rivers in Queensland, but our state government seems to act like there's plenty more where they came from.

"This should be a national outrage."

He said statements from the government on Wednesday that "up to 100 native fish went with the release, including around 12 lungfish" are a gross understatement of the facts.

It was the third such release of water from North Pine Dam in recent months and hundreds of bass, yellow belly and catfish were also spewed over the dam wall.

Save the Mary River Coordinating Group president Glenda Pickersgill said the government had failed to salvage any survivors.

Comment was being sought from the government.

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