Fish on screen

How to best protect our precious estuarine fish populations?

That’s a question NSW DPI Fisheries researchers are hoping to answer by sampling fish populations at different locations in Pittwater using their Baited Remote Underwater Video (BRUV) camera.

These BRUV camera systems enable DPI Fisheries staff to identify, measure and count fish using video footage so they can gain a good understanding of what species are present without disturbing them in their natural habitat.

This work is part of the Threats to estuarine fish assemblages project that aims to determine how a range of threats, such as infrastructure and water quality, impact estuarine fish populations.

DPI Fisheries Research Scientist Matt Rees said this project was identified as important due to the limited understanding of the impact of these threats to estuary fishes.

“We are hoping the results from this project will help with the management of our estuaries to ensure healthy fish populations and habitats into the future,” Mr Rees said.

The Threats to estuarine fish assemblages project is funded by the NSW Marine Estate Management Strategy.

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