Scientists release endangered crayfish into Victoria wilds after bushfires

Scientists from the Arthur Rylah Institute are returning a group of endangered alpine spiny crayfish to their natural waterway near Lucyvale in Victoria, Australia.

The researchers rescued the crustaceans in January after the Walwa-River Road bushfire burned approximately 121,000 hectares of the Victorian High Country. They moved the animals into captivity because debris and sediment from the fire threatened to suffocate them in the stream. The Victorian Fisheries Authority managed the crayfish at the Snobs Creek conservation hatchery near Eildon.

This was the first time the species had ever been kept in captivity, requiring staff to develop new protocols to manage the feisty animals. The hatchery also houses other vulnerable species, such as a unique type of galaxias fish and blackfish rescued from the Grampians region. Conservationists plan to include the alpine spiny crayfish in a future captive breeding program to increase their numbers and geographical diversity.

Will Sowersby of the Arthur Rylah Institute expects that increasing fire frequency and intensity due to climate change will make post-fire rescues and the establishment of new populations more critical for preventing extinction.