Over 40 critically endangered sawfish died in the Kimberley this summer in a drying-out creek on a Fitzroy Valley cattle station. This devastating news comes hot on the heels of the station owner, Gina Rinehart, revealing plans to create one of the largest irrigation properties in the Southern Hemisphere on her stations along the Fitzroy River.
Liveringa Station—where the 40 sawfish perished—is the only station in the Kimberley’s Fitzroy Valley that currently is allowed to take water from the Fitzroy River.
Gina Rinehart wants to divert 325 Billion litres of Fitzroy floodwaters each year for irrigation to grow fodder for cows. That's more water than what the Murray-Darling's infamous Cubbie Station cotton farm uses in an average year!
We may never know if the 40 sawfish on Liveringa Station would have survived the dry season if water hadn’t been taken, but it’s clear that dramatically increasing the amount of water taken from the Fitzroy would significantly increase the likelihood of more mass deaths in the future.
The mighty Fitzroy River is heralded as the last remaining stronghold for critically endangered sawfish. Taking water from the Fitzroy risks destroying this precious stronghold. Sign here to save the sawfish of the Fitzroy River
