Draft National Recovery Plan for the Murray Hardyhead Craterocephalus fluviatilis Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning December 2017 Published by the Australian Government Department of the Environment and Energy, Canberra, December 2017. © Australian Government Department of the Environment and Energy, 2017 This publication is copyright. No part may be reproduced by any process except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. The Species Profile and Threats Database pages linked to this recovery plan is obtainable from: http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/sprat.pl For further information please contact the Department of the Environment and Energy’s Community Information Unit on: 1800 803 772. This is a Recovery Plan prepared under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. The Australian Government, in partnership with the relevant States, facilitates the development of recovery plans to detail the actions needed for the conservation of threatened native flora and fauna. This document revises the plan developed previously for the Murray hardyhead for the period 2008–2013 (Backhouse et al. 2008). Disclaimer: This Recovery Plan was written by Daniel Stoessel, Iain Ellis, Marcia Riederer and Andrea Keleher (Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP)), synthesising current knowledge on the species and threats, and drafting potential recovery actions, on behalf of DELWP. The recovery objectives and actions were developed and agreed by DELWP Biodiversity Division, in consultation with stakeholders and other agencies, in accordance with the requirements of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 and are not the responsibility of the authors. Although a range of stakeholders have been involved in the development of this Recovery Plan, entities identified as the lead entity in relation to specific actions have not necessarily committed to undertaking those actions. The implementation of actions may be subject to budgetary and other constraints affecting the parties involved. Proposed actions may be subject to modification over the life of the plan due to changes in knowledge. This publication may be of assistance to you but the State of Victoria does not guarantee that the plan is without flaw or is wholly appropriate for your particular purposes and therefore disclaims all liability for any error, loss or other consequence that may arise from the use of any information in this publication. An electronic version of this document is available on the Australian Government Department of the Environment and Energy website www.environment.gov.au. Citation: Department of Environment, Land Water and Planning (2017). Draft National Recovery Plan for the Murray Hardyhead Craterocephalus fluviatilis. Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning for the Australian Government Department of the Environment and Energy, Canberra. Cover photograph: Murray hardyhead Craterocephalus fluviatilis (Michael Hammer). Contents Abbreviations .................................................................................................................................... iv Summary ............................................................................................................................................. 1 Description ...................................................................................................................................... 2 Conservation status..................................................................................................................... 2 Distribution ..................................................................................................................................... 2 Genetics ........................................................................................................................................... 7 Habitat .............................................................................................................................................. 8 Reproduction ................................................................................................................................. 9 Diet .................................................................................................................................................... 9 Threats ............................................................................................................................................. 9 Objectives, performance criteria and actions ...................................................................... 12 Recovery objectives and timelines ...................................................................................... 12 Performance criteria ................................................................................................................. 12 Evaluation ..................................................................................................................................... 12 This Recovery Plan ..................................................................................................................... 12 Previous Recovery Plan .............................................................................................................. 13 Recovery Objectives .................................................................................................................. 13 Recovery Actions ........................................................................................................................ 14 Objective 1. Protect, maintain and monitor presently known populations. ....................... 14 Objective 2. Investigate and manage threats to populations and habitats. ...................... 15 Objective 3. Increase area of occupancy. ............................................................................... 15 Objective 4. Investigate important life history traits. ........................................................... 16 Objective 5. Establish emergency contingency. ..................................................................... 17 Objective 6. Conduct surveys to determine if unknown populations exist in the wild. ... 18 Objective 7. Increase community awareness of Murray hardyhead conservation. .......... 18 Affected interests ....................................................................................................................... 19 Role and interests of Indigenous people........................................................................... 20 Benefits to other species/ecological communities ........................................................ 20 Social and Economic Impacts ................................................................................................ 20 References ........................................................................................................................................ 21 ii Personal communication ............................................................................................................. 27 Appendix 1 ........................................................................................................................................ 28 iii Abbreviations ARI – Arthur Rylah Institute CEWH – Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder CMA – Catchment Management Authority DELWP – Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning DEWNR – South Australian Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources DPI NSW – Department of Primary Industries New South Wales DoEE – Australian Government Department of the Environment and Energy GMW – Goulburn Murray Water MDFRC – Murray Darling Freshwater Research Centre MCMA – Mallee Catchment Management Authority NCCMA – North Central Catchment Management Authority MDB – Murray Darling Basin MDBA – Murray Darling Basin Authority SARDI - South Australian Research and Development Institute, Department of Primary Industry and Regions, South Australia VEWH – Victorian Environmental Water Holder iv Summary Murray hardyhead (Craterocephalus fluviatilis) is a small freshwater fish endemic to the lower Murray- Darling River Basin in South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales. Once considered widespread and common throughout its range, the species has suffered a large decline in range and abundance, and is now one of the most threatened fish species in Australia. The Murray hardyhead is listed as nationally Endangered under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. It is likely to be extremely rare in New South Wales and survives in only a few isolated locations in Victoria and South Australia. All populations are threatened by altered hydrology and alien species and are susceptible to localised extinction. This document represents the third revision of the Murray hardyhead National Recovery Plan. The Plan summarises the species distribution, biology and ecology, threats and recovery objectives and actions necessary to ensure the long-term survival and recovery of Murray hardyhead. 1 Species Information Description Murray hardyhead (Craterocephalus fluviatilis McCulloch, 1912) is an endemic, small (<100 mm), gold to silver-green fish (<85 mm total length). Two dorsal fins are present, the first of which has 4–7 spines, the second, one spine and 5–8 rays. The anal fin is opposite the second dorsal fin, is small, and has one spine and 6–9 rays. The pectoral fins are