The release of 1000 olive perchlets into the McFaull Park lagoon on Wednesday “completed the circle”.
Deniliquin Kolety Lagoons Landcare Group and Edward-Wakool Angling Association member Dr John Conallin said purple spotted gudgeon, southern pygmy perch, and catfish are also in the lagoons.
“We’ve been trying to add olive perchlets to the lagoons for almost 15 years, but there was never a source of fingerlings,” Dr Conallin said.
"Some of the species had to be rescued from northern New South Wales, and while they were being held for re-release, they were successfully breeding.
“The breeding was quite prolific, giving us this amazing opportunity."
Dr Conallin said as a result of this week’s release, Deniliquin would be one of the very few communities in the country with four threatened species in waterways in the town centre.
He said Deniliquin may even be the first.
“This is something we have been working toward since we started the lagoons project, and now our focus is on maximising the breeding of all four species.
“We hope that getting back to having a healthy population of wetland specialist fish will help to compete with carp and provide food for animals such as birds and other fish, and even us one day.
“We’ll also continue to identify more surrogate sites where the juveniles of these fish can be released in the future.
"To do this, we are working closely with the Tri-State Alliance on the Native Fish Recovery Strategy for New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia.
“It also means working closely with other member groups like Murray Local Land Services and the North Central Catchment Management Authority on the recovery of these species."
Tim McGarry and Luke Pearce from the Narrandera Fisheries Centre facilitated Wednesday’s release.
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