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Shaw Galaxias (Galaxias gunaikurnai)

The Shaw galaxias is a small, non-migratory freshwater fish known from the high headwaters of Shaw Creek in West Gippsland, Victoria. It occupies a very short creek reach and is highly sensitive to the entry of introduced trout, loss of cool flowing water, fire impacts and physical disturbance, so works affecting streams, crossings or catchments require careful assessment.

Conservation status

Commonwealth, EPBC Act 1999: Critically endangered.

Victoria, Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988: Critically endangered.

Breeding season

The species is non-migratory and remains associated with its headwater streams. The breeding period is uncertain but is thought to run from winter to early spring, with related mountain galaxias eggs hatching after approximately 20 to 30 days.

Month order is January to December. Seasonal timing is partly inferred from related mountain galaxias because Shaw galaxias breeding and early-life biology remain poorly documented.

  • Breeding: Spawning is undocumented for Shaw galaxias but is thought to occur from winter to early spring. Gonads were well developed or ripe in early May, before the inferred spawning period.
  • Young: The timing for Shaw galaxias is unknown. Eggs in related mountain galaxias hatch after approximately 20 to 30 days, so eggs and early young may occur during or shortly after winter to early spring spawning.
  • Highest clearing risk: Disturbance to occupied streams and refuges can cause harm in any month. Risk is highest from winter to early spring because breeding and early life stages may be present, and bed or flow disturbance can also damage eggs and shallow refuge habitat.

Identification

The Shaw galaxias is a small, elongate, scaleless native fish of cool alpine headwaters. It is unlikely to be identified reliably from a brief visual observation in turbid water, so records should include photographs or specimens where authorised, precise creek location and habitat details.

The body is tubular and elongate, with a lateral line, a moderately long and rounded snout, a large mouth and moderately small coppery-gold eyes.

The back and upper sides are grey-brown to grey-tan, becoming light tan to creamy brown underneath, with a cream or white belly. Dusky grey shading and irregular grey-brown to dark grey blotches and stripes overlay the body, and some markings extend below the lateral line.

The fins are soft-rayed, strongly rounded, translucent and slightly pale yellow to dusky. The gill cover is translucent and has a small golden patch.

Typical length: 65 to 70 mm length to caudal fin.

Maximum recorded size: 104 mm length to caudal fin and 11 g.

Identification: Distinguishing features

The Shaw galaxias belongs to the former mountain galaxias complex. It is distinguished from other members by its more elongate body, short but wide or deep head, mottled blotched body pattern and rounded snout.

The species has previously been treated as part of Galaxias olidus, the mountain galaxias complex. Confirm identification carefully where other galaxias occur in the wider catchment.

  • Do not identify a small, mottled stream fish as Shaw galaxias from colour alone.
  • Record the stream name, catchment, river distance, elevation, water temperature if measured, and whether introduced trout are present.
  • Use an appropriately qualified aquatic ecologist or fisheries specialist where a project could affect the known creek reach or a suspected new population.

Identification: Field signs and survey handling

No species-specific tracks, scats, calls, nests, sloughs or roost signs are described in the supplied documents. The most useful field evidence is a live fish observation or capture from suitable shallow creek habitat, supported by a photograph and an accurate location.

The species has been collected from shallow riffles and glides, and the known natural population has been found at four sites within a 4 km upper headwater reach. Any capture, handling, electrofishing or relocation must be undertaken under the relevant permits and by suitably authorised personnel.

  • Inspect shallow pools, riffles, glides and small cascades without disturbing the bed more than necessary.
  • Treat any small native galaxias from the known Shaw Creek area as a potential Shaw galaxias until identification is confirmed.
  • Keep disturbance, bank access, trampling and sediment entry to the minimum needed for the survey.

Distribution: National range

The species is endemic to Victoria and has an extremely restricted known range in the West Gippsland highlands. Its natural distribution is centred on the upper Shaw Creek headwaters in the Macalister River catchment.

The Shaw galaxias is known only from Victoria. Its natural range is in West Gippsland, in the Thomson River Basin and Mitchell Thomson Rivers Region, within the Macalister River catchment.

The known site is in the headwaters of Shaw Creek, a tributary of the Caledonia River, at approximately 1470 m above sea level in Alpine National Park.

State: Victoria only.

Catchment: Macalister River catchment, including the Caledonia River system.

Known elevation: Approximately 1470 m above sea level.

Distribution: Known populations and decline

The species is known from one natural subpopulation in the upper Shaw Creek headwaters. It has been collected from four sites within a 4 km reach.

In the 1960s, the distribution extended at least 12 km farther downstream of the type locality, and may have reached the middle reaches of the Caledonia River system. By 2002, the fish was absent from a site approximately 400 m downstream of the type locality where brown trout were abundant.

After high flows eroded an instream barrier in 2010 to 2011, brown trout entered the headwaters. By May 2012, Shaw galaxias abundance had declined by approximately 98 percent. Approximately 150 mature and juvenile fish remained in three small pools in a sphagnum bog, with one additional mature fish recorded in a separate side tributary.

Natural subpopulations: One confirmed natural subpopulation.

Known occupied reach: Four sites within a 4 km reach.

Recorded decline: Approximately 98 percent decline in abundance by May 2012 after trout entered the headwaters.

Historical range contraction: At least 12 km of downstream range lost since the 1960s.

Historical remnant count: Approximately 150 mature and juvenile fish in three pools, plus one mature fish in another side tributary, in May 2012.

Distribution: Translocation and survey limits

One translocation has been undertaken in a stream in an adjacent catchment. The translocated fish had begun to reproduce and increase in abundance, but it was too early in the cited assessment to determine whether the subpopulation was self-sustaining or evolutionarily viable.

A possible galaxias population in the headwaters of Pieman Creek, approximately 14 km north of the type locality, could not be relocated or assigned to species. Additional headwater surveys have been recommended, and partly completed surveys had not found further subpopulations at the time of the assessment.

Habitat: Stream habitat

The Shaw galaxias occupies small, clear, cool alpine headwater streams at high elevation. Habitat assessment must include the stream channel and the local catchment that maintains surface and groundwater inputs.

The known natural habitat is a small creek flowing through a grassy plain. The creek averages 0.6 to 1.4 m in width and 0.15 to 0.20 m in depth, and includes pools, glides, riffles and smaller areas of cascades.

The water is clear and cool. The species can survive winter water temperatures below 5 degrees Celsius, and the catchment is usually covered by snow for varying periods.

Typical creek width: 0.6 to 1.4 m.

Typical creek depth: 0.15 to 0.20 m.

Elevation: Approximately 1470 m above sea level at the known natural population.

Cold tolerance recorded in habitat: The species can survive in water below 5 degrees Celsius during winter.

  • Protect shallow flowing water, pools, riffles, glides and small cascades within and upstream of occupied habitat.
  • Maintain the local surface water and groundwater catchment, not only the wetted channel.
  • Prevent sediment, pollutants, altered drainage and warm or low-flow water from entering the creek.

Habitat: Substrate and cover

The type locality has a bed dominated by bedrock, boulder and cobble, with smaller amounts of pebble, gravel and coarse sand. Instream cover is provided mainly by rock and overhanging grasses.

The species' detailed microhabitat preferences are unknown. Galaxias species can burrow into substrate during periods of declining surface water.

  • Avoid removing or burying bedrock, boulders, cobbles, gravel and other bed material.
  • Retain overhanging grasses and natural instream rock cover.
  • Keep temporary access tracks, machinery crossings and spoil storage out of the channel and its immediate banks.

Habitat: Habitat critical to survival

Habitat critical to survival includes the area occupied by known subpopulations, adjoining areas of similar habitat that could support natural range extension, suitable trout-free streams for translocation, and the local catchment maintaining the species' surface and groundwater habitat.

Artificial barriers have been used to keep trout out of the upper headwaters. Any work near an existing barrier, crossing or channel constriction should be assessed for its effect on trout exclusion and fish passage.

Foraging habitat: Food and feeding areas

The diet of the Shaw galaxias has not been directly reported. Based on other members of the mountain galaxias complex, it is expected to feed on aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates associated with shallow flowing water.

The species is likely to be macroinsectivorous or macroinvertivorous. Expected prey includes benthic, drifting and terrestrial invertebrates such as insects, crustaceans, molluscs, worms and spiders.

Suitable feeding habitat is likely to include the shallow pools, riffles and glides of the upper creek, where rock, cobble, gravel and overhanging grasses provide feeding surfaces, cover and sources of drifting prey.

Diet: Not directly reported for Shaw galaxias; likely aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates.

Recorded feeding habitat context: Clear, cool headwater creek containing pools, glides, riffles and small cascades.

Foraging range: Not reported. The species is non-migratory and is known from a 4 km occupied creek reach.

  • Retain natural flow, riffle and glide structure and avoid smothering the bed with sediment.
  • Maintain overhanging grasses and riparian vegetation that contribute terrestrial invertebrates and shade.
  • Prevent construction runoff, concrete washout, fuel, chemicals and fine sediment from reducing aquatic invertebrate prey.

Breeding habitat: Breeding biology

The reproductive biology of the Shaw galaxias is poorly known. The available information indicates winter to early spring spawning and suggests that shallow riffles with rock substrate may provide breeding habitat, based on the reproductive biology of related mountain galaxias.

Individuals collected in late February were at an early stage of gonad development and had substantial fat reserves. By mid-April, gonads filled 50 to 60 percent of the body cavity. In early May, males were running ripe and female gonads were well developed and ripe.

Other members of the mountain galaxias complex have low fecundity, with fewer than 400 eggs annually. Their sticky eggs are generally attached to the underside of rocks in riffles. These details have not been confirmed for Shaw galaxias specifically.

Spawning season: Undocumented for Shaw galaxias, but thought to be winter to early spring.

Egg number: Not recorded for Shaw galaxias. Related mountain galaxias have fewer than 400 eggs annually.

Egg attachment: Not confirmed for Shaw galaxias. Related species attach sticky eggs to the underside of rocks in riffles.

Incubation: Not recorded for Shaw galaxias. Eggs of related mountain galaxias hatch after approximately 20 to 30 days.

Age at maturity: Unknown.

Lifespan: Unknown.

Generation length: Unknown for Shaw galaxias, but likely 2 to 4 years based on other mountain galaxias.

Breeding habitat: Breeding habitat and project controls

Potential breeding habitat includes shallow riffles and gently flowing areas with rock, cobble and other stable bed material. The species' breeding microhabitat has not been confirmed, so all occupied and suitable headwater habitat should be treated as sensitive.

Works that disturb the bed, alter flow, increase sediment or allow trout to pass into the upper creek may affect eggs, larvae, adults or breeding habitat.

  • Avoid in-channel works during the likely winter to early spring breeding period wherever practicable.
  • If works cannot be avoided, obtain site-specific aquatic ecology advice and use controls that prevent bed disturbance, sediment release and trout access.
  • Inspect and maintain fish exclusion barriers before, during and after works near the known population.

Sheltering habitat: Recorded refuges

The species uses natural streambed and bank-associated cover rather than terrestrial shelters. The most important recorded refuges were small pools in a sphagnum bog and headwater tributaries above trout exclusion barriers.

After the 2010 to 2011 trout invasion, approximately 150 mature and juvenile fish remained in three small pools in a sphagnum bog in a 300 m long, 0.3 m wide side tributary. One further mature individual was found in the headwaters of a separate side tributary.

The broader stream provides cover from bedrock, boulders, cobbles and overhanging grasses. During surface water loss, galaxias species can burrow into substrate.

Documented refuge tributary: Approximately 300 m long and 0.3 m wide.

Recorded refuge: Three small pools in a sphagnum bog, plus a separate side tributary headwater.

Cover: Bedrock, boulders, cobbles, other substrate and overhanging grasses.

  • Protect small pools, side tributaries, seepage areas and wet sphagnum habitat connected to the upper creek.
  • Retain stable bed material and avoid dewatering, draining, infilling or isolating shallow refuge pools.
  • Keep vehicles, stockpiles, pumps and temporary infrastructure away from refuge pools and tributary headwaters.

Sheltering habitat: Trout-free refuges

Artificial and permanent instream barriers were installed between 2013 and 2017, and brown trout were removed from above the barriers. The upper area was reported to be trout-free at the time of the assessment.

A barrier failure caused by high flows allowed trout to invade the headwaters previously occupied by Shaw galaxias. This shows that refuge habitat depends on both suitable water and effective exclusion of introduced salmonids.

  • Do not damage, bypass or alter fish exclusion barriers without an approved replacement and aquatic ecology plan.
  • Check that temporary crossings and construction diversions cannot provide a route for trout reinvasion.
  • Maintain trout-free refuge habitat during all project stages, including demobilisation and post-construction flows.

Threats: Introduced predators

The Shaw galaxias has a very small distribution and population, so a local impact can affect a large proportion of the species. The main project risks are trout access, hydrology change, sediment and habitat disturbance, fire impacts and damage to barriers or refuge pools.

Brown trout and rainbow trout occur downstream of the artificial instream barrier. Predation by introduced salmonids has been implicated in the decline of galaxias species across Australia and is the primary threat identified for Shaw galaxias.

High flows eroded a barrier in 2010 to 2011 and allowed brown trout to colonise the headwaters. The resulting abundance decline was approximately 98 percent by May 2012.

  • Prevent any construction activity from creating a temporary or permanent route for trout to enter occupied headwaters.
  • Inspect barriers after high flows, earthworks, floods and construction-related channel changes.
  • Report suspected trout presence or barrier failure promptly to the relevant Victorian land and fisheries authorities.

Threats: Clearing, construction and fragmentation

The species is confined to a short headwater reach, so disturbance to the channel, banks, tributaries or local catchment can affect occupied habitat, refuge pools and the water regime supporting the population.

Potential impacts include removal of overhanging grasses, bed disturbance, sedimentation, altered drainage, barriers to local fish movement and loss of connection between pools and tributaries.

  • Avoid clearing or placing infrastructure within the stream channel, refuge pools, side tributaries and adjoining riparian areas.
  • Keep access tracks, machinery, spoil and temporary compounds outside the local drainage paths that feed occupied habitat.
  • Design crossings to avoid bed scour, sediment release, low-flow isolation and damage to trout exclusion barriers.
  • Treat all similar high-elevation headwater habitat adjoining the known sites as potentially important until surveys and advice establish otherwise.

Threats: Fire and climate-related change

Fire is identified as a threat, and the species' very restricted distribution means a single severe event could affect much of the remaining population. Ash and other fire-derived material can reduce stream water quality and oxygen availability.

Climate change may reduce flows and water quality and increase the frequency or severity of fire, drought and flooding. Reduced surface water can also concentrate fish in small refuges or dry parts of the occupied habitat.

  • Avoid unnecessary vegetation removal that increases erosion or reduces protection of the creek and its banks.
  • Plan emergency access, fire response and post-fire sediment controls to protect the upper creek and its tributaries.
  • Maintain natural catchment drainage and avoid works that reduce cool groundwater or surface water inputs.

Threats: Population and disease risks

The species has a single confirmed natural subpopulation and a translocated subpopulation whose long-term viability was still uncertain in the assessment. Very small populations are vulnerable to local catastrophes and loss of genetic diversity.

No species-specific disease is identified in the supplied documents. Moving fish, water, equipment or aquatic organisms between catchments can nevertheless create biosecurity risks and should be managed under relevant protocols.

  • Do not move fish, aquatic plants, sediment or untreated equipment between catchments.
  • Use clean, dry or appropriately disinfected equipment when working between streams, subject to approved fish handling and biosecurity procedures.
  • Do not undertake unapproved translocation, captive holding or release of galaxias.

Survey methodology: 1. Aquatic habitat inspection

Shaw galaxias is a small, non-migratory freshwater fish known from cool alpine headwaters. Survey design must focus on shallow, clear streams and refuge pools, with particular attention to trout-free reaches and barriers that may limit access by introduced salmonids.

Inspect all proposed work areas and upstream and downstream reaches that could be affected by flow changes, sediment, barriers, dewatering or access works.

Map pools, glides, riffles, small cascades, side tributaries, sphagnum bogs, rock cover, overhanging grasses and artificial or natural barriers.

Treat clear, cool headwater streams at about 1470 m above sea level as potential habitat where they contain pools, glides and riffles over bedrock, boulder, cobble, pebble, gravel or coarse sand.

Inspect adjoining similar habitat and the local surface water and groundwater catchment because these areas may maintain known habitat or provide for natural range extension.

Record brown trout and rainbow trout, including their abundance, life stages and location relative to barriers, because salmonid predation is the primary documented threat.

Known distribution: Headwaters of Shaw Creek, a tributary of the Caledonia River in the Macalister River catchment, West Gippsland, Victoria.

Known records: Four sites within a 4 km river reach in the upper headwaters.

Typical stream: About 0.6 to 1.4 m wide and 0.15 to 0.20 m deep, clear and cool, with pools, glides, riffles and smaller cascades.

Survey methodology: 2. Targeted fish detection

Use a suitably qualified freshwater fish ecologist to select and justify methods for the site, because the supplied documents do not prescribe a species-specific survey guideline or minimum sampling effort for Shaw galaxias.

Sample shallow, gently flowing riffles and glides around cobble, bedrock, boulder and coarse substrate, and inspect rock and overhanging grass cover.

Include small side tributaries and refuge pools where the main channel has been disturbed, because the species survived the 2012 decline in three small pools in a sphagnum bog and one nearby side tributary.

Use methods authorised under Victorian wildlife and fisheries requirements, such as appropriately supervised electrofishing or other approved capture methods, where fish capture is required.

Record the number, size class, sex where evident, exact location, water depth, flow type, substrate, cover, water quality and the presence of introduced salmonids for every detection.

Do not treat a failed single visit as evidence that the species is absent, particularly where access, high flow, turbidity, snow, fire impacts or recent trout removal could reduce detection.

Known body size: Usually 65 to 70 mm to the caudal fin, with a recorded maximum of 104 mm and 11 g.

Likely spawning period: Winter to early spring, although the spawning period is undocumented.

Generation length: Unknown for Shaw galaxias, but likely similar to other mountain galaxias at 2 to 4 years.

Survey methodology: 3. Timing and detection conditions

Schedule surveys when the stream is flowing and safe to enter, and document recent rainfall, flow, turbidity, water temperature and any snow or fire effects.

Give priority to winter and early spring when reproductive activity is thought to occur, but use repeat surveys across suitable seasons where the consequence of a false absence is high.

Search around and among cobble in shallow riffles and glides, while also checking pools and side tributaries used as refuge habitat.

Expect low detectability where fish are concealed under rocks or in substrate, and where surface water has declined, because galaxias species can burrow into substrate during water loss.

Inspect downstream reaches and barriers for trout as well as the proposed work footprint, because trout have previously invaded the headwaters after high flows eroded an instream barrier.

Survey methodology: Minimum effort and reporting

  • Prepare a written survey design that states the reaches surveyed, river distance, dates, start and finish times, weather, flow and water conditions, methods, equipment, operator qualifications and all limitations.
  • Survey the full proposed disturbance footprint and any connected upstream or downstream habitat that could receive sediment, altered flows, dewatering, access traffic or barriers.
  • Use repeat or complementary sampling where habitat is suitable but no Shaw galaxias are detected, and explain the basis for concluding that absence is meaningful.
  • Submit confirmed records, negative survey results where required, trout records, photographs and spatial data to the relevant Victorian wildlife or biodiversity database and provide the records to the project approval holder.
  • Report any suspected Shaw galaxias record immediately to the project environmental officer and the relevant Victorian conservation authority before works continue in the affected reach.
  • Retain electrofishing or other capture records, animal welfare records, relocation records, injury records and photographs with the project environmental file.

Before habitat disturbance: Avoid and minimise

Treat the occupied headwaters, connected tributaries and their local catchment as sensitive aquatic habitat. The species is restricted to a very small range, so avoid direct disturbance and prevent trout access, sediment entry and changes to flow.

  • Avoid works in the known Shaw Creek headwaters and in similar connected alpine headwater habitat wherever a practicable alternative exists.
  • Retain shallow pools, glides, riffles, small cascades, cobble, boulder, bedrock, coarse substrate, rock cover, overhanging grasses and sphagnum bog refuges.
  • Maintain natural surface water and groundwater inputs, channel form, flow paths and barriers that currently exclude brown trout and rainbow trout.
  • Maintain connectivity between occupied habitat and adjoining suitable habitat, but do not create a pathway for salmonid movement into trout-free reaches.
  • Keep machinery, spoil, fuels, concrete washout, sediment controls and access tracks out of the channel and its riparian margin unless the approved design requires otherwise.

Before habitat disturbance: Approvals and project planning

  • Check the EPBC Act approval pathway before works because Shaw galaxias is identified in the supplied material for national listing as Critically Endangered and listed species are Matters of National Environmental Significance.
  • Obtain and comply with Victorian permits and approvals for threatened fish, fish capture, handling, electrofishing, waterway works, removal of barriers, dewatering and relocation.
  • Engage the relevant Victorian conservation and waterway authorities early where works may affect the known subpopulation, a translocated subpopulation, trout barriers or connected habitat.
  • Prepare a fauna and aquatic habitat management plan covering pre-clearance survey, exclusion zones, dewatering, fish rescue, sediment and flow controls, stop-work triggers, incident response and reporting.
  • Stage works so the smallest practicable area is open at one time, and avoid the likely winter to early spring spawning period where the approval and construction programme allow.
  • Plan works around safe fish rescue conditions and retain a clean, flowing refuge reach whenever practicable.

Before habitat disturbance: Site preparation

  • Complete a pre-clearance aquatic survey immediately before works and update the map of fish habitat, barriers, refuge pools, side tributaries and salmonid locations.
  • Clearly mark no-go areas and exclusion zones in the field, including the channel, pools, riffles, sphagnum bogs, side tributaries and adjoining habitat retained for Shaw galaxias.
  • Install exclusion fencing or equivalent controls where they can prevent machinery, people, spoil and sediment from entering retained habitat without diverting flow or blocking fish movement.
  • Set out machinery access, laydown, refuelling, spoil storage, concrete handling and washout areas outside the local catchment inputs and away from the channel.
  • Confirm the authorised fish ecologist, spotter catcher or aquatic fauna team, the wildlife carer or veterinarian contact, emergency communications and the decision maker for stop-work events before mobilisation.

During habitat disturbance: Daily controls

Keep the channel functioning and prevent salmonid movement, sediment entry and uncontrolled fish handling. A fauna spotter catcher must work under the approved aquatic fauna plan and must not substitute visual observation for authorised fish survey or rescue methods.

  • Inspect exclusion fencing, sediment controls, barriers, flow bypasses, pumps, screens and access controls before work starts and after rain or high flow.
  • Keep all machinery, spoil, fuels, chemicals, concrete washout and contaminated water away from the stream and prevent discharge into the channel or its tributaries.
  • Maintain downstream flow and prevent sudden dewatering, stranding, scour, turbidity or temperature change in retained habitat.
  • Use clean equipment and prevent transfer of fish, mud, water and aquatic organisms between catchments or between trout-occupied and trout-free reaches.
  • Check for brown trout and rainbow trout above and below work areas, especially after high flows or any disturbance to an instream barrier.

During habitat disturbance: Fauna spotter catcher and machinery interface

  • Keep the aquatic fauna specialist in direct communication with the machine operator and supervisor before each work step that could enter, drain, isolate or alter the channel.
  • Use a controlled, staged approach to dewatering or isolation so the authorised fish team can inspect and rescue fish before machinery enters the affected area.
  • Do not allow an operator to move rocks, cobble, logs, substrate or barrier material until the fauna specialist has checked the area and released it for handling.
  • Stop the relevant machine immediately when the fauna specialist calls a stop, and keep personnel and equipment clear until the animal, habitat or hazard has been assessed.
  • Use only personnel authorised under the relevant Victorian permits to capture, handle, identify, transport or relocate fish.

During habitat disturbance: Animal found, handling and relocation

Relocation context: One translocation into a stream in an adjacent catchment has been reported, and the subpopulation had begun reproducing and increasing in abundance, but its long-term viability was not yet determined in the draft advice.

  • Stop work in the immediate area and protect the animal from machinery, heat, sediment and drying until the authorised handler gives instructions.
  • Do not handle a suspected Shaw galaxias unless the person is authorised and has the equipment and expertise to identify and care for a small freshwater fish.
  • Where the approved plan allows relocation, move the fish only to nearby retained, suitable, trout-free habitat with equivalent flowing water, substrate, cover and water quality, and record the release location.
  • Do not move fish across catchments or past barriers, and do not release them into habitat containing brown trout or rainbow trout unless specifically authorised by the relevant authority.
  • Place injured or distressed animals with an authorised aquatic wildlife carer or veterinarian as directed by the project fauna plan and record the outcome.
  • Photograph and record the species or identification uncertainty, number, size, condition, capture location, release location, time, method, handler and permit or approval reference.

During habitat disturbance: Stop-work triggers and records

  • Stop work and notify the environmental officer if a Shaw galaxias is found in the disturbance area, fish are stranded, the channel becomes turbid, flow is interrupted, a control fails or trout enter a protected reach.
  • Stop work if a barrier is damaged, eroded or bypassed in a way that could allow brown trout or rainbow trout to invade the occupied headwaters.
  • Record daily weather, flow, water quality observations, machinery movements, control inspections, fish observations, captures, relocations, injuries, mortalities, trout detections and corrective actions.
  • Escalate any mortality, unauthorised handling, unauthorised release, sediment discharge, fish passage failure or barrier failure under the approval and incident reporting process.
  • Do not restart the affected activity until the authorised fauna specialist and the project environmental officer confirm that controls and any required approvals are in place.

After habitat disturbance: Completion checks

Post-work checks must confirm that the stream remains suitable for Shaw galaxias and that the project has not created a pathway for trout invasion. Keep aquatic controls in place until the site is stable and monitoring shows that habitat functions have been retained.

  • Inspect the full work area, upstream and downstream channel, side tributaries, refuge pools and barriers after construction and after the first significant high-flow event.
  • Remove temporary crossings, pumps, hoses, screens, spoil, debris and sediment controls only when removal will not damage habitat or release sediment.
  • Confirm that pools, riffles, glides, cobble, rock cover, overhanging grasses, flow paths and local groundwater inputs have been retained or reinstated.
  • Check for fish stranding, altered flow, scour, deposition, turbidity, chemical contamination and any new route for brown trout or rainbow trout to enter trout-free habitat.
  • Repair failed erosion, sediment, exclusion or barrier controls immediately and keep them operational until the environmental officer signs them off.

After habitat disturbance: Monitoring and reporting

  • Undertake post-work fish and habitat monitoring at the frequency and duration required by the approval, fauna management plan and relevant Victorian authority.
  • Use the same reach boundaries, habitat descriptions and detection methods used in the pre-work survey so changes in Shaw galaxias records and habitat condition can be assessed.
  • Report Shaw galaxias detections, mortalities, trout incursions, barrier damage, water quality incidents, relocations and monitoring results to the approval holder and relevant authorities.
  • Submit spatial records and validated observations to the relevant Victorian wildlife or biodiversity database.
  • Keep monitoring records with the project environmental file, including photographs, raw field data, weather, flow, water conditions, effort and limitations.

After habitat disturbance: Approvals, offsets and ongoing controls

  • Complete any EPBC Act, Victorian approval, permit, management plan or reporting condition before closing the environmental work package.
  • Where residual impacts cannot be avoided, implement any approved offset, conservation measure, habitat protection measure or contribution required by the decision maker.
  • Maintain permanent barriers or other approved trout exclusion measures where they form part of the species protection design, and inspect them after high flows.
  • Continue weed, erosion, sediment and access controls in the local catchment where they protect the surface and groundwater supporting Shaw Creek habitat.
  • Record the final disturbance footprint and the location and condition of retained, restored and protected habitat.

Rehabilitation actions: Stream and refuge habitat

Rehabilitation should recreate the physical conditions used by Shaw galaxias and protect the small remaining population from trout, low flow, sediment and fire-related impacts. Focus on functioning cold headwater habitat rather than cosmetic revegetation alone.

  • Reinstate a clear, cool, flowing headwater channel with pools, glides, riffles and small cascades where these features were disturbed.
  • Use locally appropriate bedrock, boulder, cobble, pebble, gravel and coarse sand to restore the natural bed profile and provide cover.
  • Reinstate rock cover, overhanging grasses, undercut edges and suitable sphagnum bog refuge areas without blocking fish passage or concentrating flow.
  • Protect the local surface and groundwater catchment that maintains the stream, and prevent drainage, dewatering, sediment delivery and rapid loss of surface water.
  • Do not stock or introduce fish, and do not use rehabilitation works that connect trout-occupied reaches to trout-free Shaw galaxias habitat.

Rehabilitation actions: Riparian and catchment recovery

  • Restore native grasses and other locally appropriate riparian vegetation that stabilise banks and provide overhanging cover while retaining the open character of the recorded grassy plain where appropriate.
  • Control weeds and erosion in the catchment so fine sediment does not cover cobble, riffles, pools or fish refuge areas.
  • Manage access, grazing or other land disturbance that could damage the small alpine creek, its banks, side tributaries or groundwater inputs.
  • Plan fire management with the land manager and relevant authorities to reduce the risk of severe fire, ash deposition, oxygen depletion and post-fire sediment entering the stream.
  • Do not install logs, nest boxes or terrestrial habitat structures as a substitute for the aquatic habitat features required by this species.

Rehabilitation actions: Trout exclusion and predator control

Documented past decline: Abundance declined by about 98 percent by May 2012 after brown trout invaded the headwaters; 150 mature and juvenile fish remained in three small pools and one mature fish was found in a separate side tributary.

  • Maintain, repair and monitor artificial or natural barriers that prevent brown trout and rainbow trout from entering occupied headwaters, subject to approval and fish passage requirements.
  • Remove introduced salmonids only through authorised programmes using approved personnel and methods.
  • Inspect barriers after high flows because the previous barrier was eroded during high flows in 2010 to 2011, allowing brown trout to colonise the Shaw galaxias headwaters.
  • Treat any trout detection above a protective barrier as an immediate management incident and notify the responsible authority.
  • Coordinate predator control with monitoring of Shaw galaxias abundance and recruitment so the effectiveness of the intervention can be assessed.

Rehabilitation actions: Success monitoring

  • Monitor restored reaches for Shaw galaxias presence, abundance, size classes and evidence of reproduction, together with water flow, temperature, turbidity, substrate, cover and refuge pool condition.
  • Track brown trout and rainbow trout presence above and below barriers, including after high flows, floods, fire and construction activity.
  • Compare results with the pre-disturbance survey and document whether restored habitat is occupied, whether fish are reproducing and whether barriers continue to exclude salmonids.
  • Use monitoring results to adjust erosion control, riparian management, barrier maintenance, fire planning and any approved translocation or conservation action.
  • Report failures promptly where restored habitat dries, becomes disconnected, is invaded by trout, accumulates sediment or no longer provides suitable shallow riffle, glide, pool or refuge habitat.

Sources