Freshwater fish of northeast Tasmania with notes on the dwarf galaxias

Murray-Darling Freshwater Research Centre

MDFRC item.

Northeast Tasmania has 18 species of freshwater fish, of which 15 are native and three are introduced. No species are endemic to the region. Most of the freshwater fishes are diadromous and have a Tasmania-wide distribution, with only three species restricted entirely to freshwater. The most notable feature of the regional fish fauna is the occurrence of the dwarf galaxias, Galaxiella pusilla. On mainland Tasmania the Northeast represents the stronghold for this diminutive species, which has a conservation status of ‘rare’ in Tasmania. There are recreational fisheries for whitebait and salmonids as well as a commercial eel fishery in the Northeast. The biogeograpahical origins of, threats to and conservation status of the dwarf galaxias in Tasmania are discussed.