A NEW project to improve the habitat and numbers of one of Australia’s most critically endangered molluscs, the Glenelg Freshwater Mussel (GFM) only found in south-west Victoria, has been announced as part of Australian Government investment for threatened species.
Recently, the environment and water minister, Tanya Plibersek, announced more than $1.2 million to save threatened fish - the Stocky galaxias (found in NSW) and Swan galaxias (found in Tasmania), and the GFM.
The GFM has been a critically endangered mussel species found only in the Glenelg River system of south-western Victoria.
The species has been culturally significant for the region’s Gunditjmara Traditional Owners and has been at risk from genetic in-breeding, habitat degradation and extreme events like fire and drought.
The two-year, $490,000 project will focus on works in the Glenelg River around Dartmoor and will be delivered by the Glenelg Hopkins Catchment Management Authority (GHCMA).
GHCMA chief executive, Adam Bester said, “The GFM is a species only found in our catchment, and only in the tributaries of the Glenelg River, so it is fantastic to have this significant Australian Government investment in the species which is so special to our area.”
Funding for the project supports captive breeding programs, the development of emergency response plans, woody weed control, revegetation along riverbanks, and will also benefit other threatened species that share the same habitat.
The project brings together the combined expertise of GHCMA, the Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research (ARI), Victorian Fisheries Authority and Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation and builds on the GFM protection and recovery post Crawford River fire project during which mussels were collected, kept in captivity by ARI scientists, and then returned to the waterways once the impacts of the 2021 bushfires had subsided.
This project received grant funding from the Australian Government Saving Native Species Program.
To find out more about the project please search: bit.ly/3ya0rSi
