Developing strategies to reduce the risk of tilapia incursion into the Murray-Darling Basin : Science and Surveillance

Abstract

Mozambique tilapia, Oreochromis mossambicus (here-on referred to as tilapia) is a successful invader and has managed to dominate natural waterways into which it has been introduced in Australia. It is not currently found in the Murray-Darling Basin (MDB); however, it has established thriving populations in catchments neighbouring the northern Basin (Figure 1).
Tilapia have already established in many south-eastern Queensland catchments including the Burnett, Brisbane, Bremer, Stanley, Maroochy, Caboolture, North Pine, and South Pine systems. Since September 2011 tilapia have also been recorded in the Mary and Fitzroy systems. The major vector for the spread from catchment to catchment of pest fish such as tilapia is people who transport tilapia from one location to another for various purposes such as personal consumption and use for live bait in fishing. The threat to the Murray-Darling Basin has increased substantially in recent years as tilapia populations have moved closer to the Basin. There is an urgent need to act now to protect Australia’s iconic Murray-Darling Basin from the potentially devastating impacts tilapia can have.