Recfishwest was horrified to learn that hundreds of WA’s most iconic freshwater crustacean, the mighty marron, have been left for dead in the southern end of the Collie River due to mismanagement of the State’s water resources.
Marron have been deprived of important environmental water flows resulting in them walking out of their river pools to gain oxygen, only to bake in the sun, leaving behind what has been described as “a marron graveyard”. The marron deaths follow revelations that river flows in the Collie River South Branch have been diverted into Lake Kepwari, a decommissioned mine void.
Recfishwest CEO Dr Andrew Rowland said seeing hundreds of dead marron on the dry river bed is a disgrace especially as the Lake is full.
“How come there’s a full lake and an empty river?” Dr Rowland said.
“This is a man-made problem and we’re calling for swift and decisive action so that marron and other wildlife in the remaining permanent pools within this 15km river section do not succumb to a similar fate as we progress into the warmer month.
“We all understand our climate is variable, 2015 has been a dry year, and managing our water resources can be complex but the fact of the matter is that water for the environment must come first so that this type of disaster doesn’t happen again.”
(Images courtesy: Blayde Grzelka – Collie Mail)
