Mass Sawfish Death
Demand an Investigation into Mass Sawfish Death
Demand Government investigate how 46 endangered sawfish became trapped and died in drying-out pools on the Fitzroy floodplain. Also to explain the decision to withhold the news of the mass death from the media & community!
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Forty-six critically endangered sawfish died last December on Liveringa Pastoral Station near the Fitzroy River.
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Documents obtained under Freedom of Information show that Government officials chose not to make these deaths known to the public.
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The Fitzroy River is recognised as the world's last remaining stronghold for freshwater sawfish, which are globally listed as Critically Endangered. Sawfish are also totally protected under both WA State and Federal legislation. The Fitzroy River nursery is likely to be crucial to the long term survival of the species.
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The sawfish died after becoming trapped in drying out pools on the Blina floodplain on Liveringa Station. Blina floodplain is connected to the Fitzroy River through Snake Creek, a tributary that has been modified for access roads and to allow pumping of between 1 and 2 billion litres of water for irrigation. This is the only water that is currently allowed to be taken from the river.
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An incident report on the sawfish death event highlights that it is not clear why the sawfish became trapped on the floodplain.
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An independent investigation is needed to provide transparency on why the sawfish became trapped on the floodplain, on the implications of modifying and extracting water from Snake Creek for sawfish, and on the Government decision not to make these deaths public.
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The investigation is more urgent than ever with the current debate on the future of the Fitzroy River. Liveringa Station owner Gina Rinehart has called for some 300 billion litres of water from the river to be taken for irrigation. This would be 150-300 times more water than is currently taken from the Fitzroy River at Snake Creek.
- Call on the Water Minister to properly investigate the endangered species deaths.