Fish Pest Fear For The Gulf

[mrmoshe]

Fish pest fear for the Gulf

It's feared the pest fish species tilapia could infest the Gulf of Carpentaria,", after it was found for the first time in the headwaters of the Mitchell River.

Tilapia are very aggressive and considered an environmental pest, much like the cane toad, with two species of the fish already choking waterways along the Queensland east coast.

Malcolm Pearce, a biologist with the Queensland Department of Fisheries, says eight small fish have been found at this stage.

"This is a huge finding and very disappointing from our point of view", he says.

"We've put a lot of effort into communicating and educating people not only where tilapia are, but where they aren't.

"Being in that spot if they do spread from there, then potentially they can go through all of the Gulf region, across Kakadu into the Northern Territory and across into Western Australia".