{"id":10624,"date":"2026-05-01T13:10:29","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T03:10:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mli.org.au\/home\/?p=10624"},"modified":"2026-05-01T13:10:29","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T03:10:29","slug":"listening-to-country-the-olive-perchlet-story-at-booligal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mli.org.au\/home\/listening-to-country-the-olive-perchlet-story-at-booligal\/","title":{"rendered":"Listening to Country: The Olive Perchlet story at Booligal"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A word from the Sustainable Agriculture Facilitator (May 2026)<\/h2>\n

In July 2023, a quiet but exciting discovery at Toms Lake near Booligal changed what we thought we knew about biodiversity in the lower Lachlan – and reminded us how much there still is to learn when we slow down and really look after Country.<\/p>\n

During fish surveys in April and July 2023, an endangered olive perchlet was found living in this ephemeral wetland system. The olive perchlet is a tiny fish – only about five to six centimetres long – transparent, feisty and carnivorous despite its size. It\u2019s listed as endangered in western NSW, and until recently only one population was believed to exist in the Lachlan River system, near the Lake Brewster weir pool.<\/p>\n

Finding olive perchlet at Booligal came as a real surprise.<\/p>\n

Fish ecologist Dr Adam Kerezsy (Dr Fish Contracting), who has worked across the Lachlan catchment for nearly 30 years, was sampling Toms Lake as part of unrelated environmental water monitoring when his nets revealed something unexpected. What started as a \u201cthat\u2019s odd\u201d moment quickly became something much bigger. Genetic testing later confirmed that the Booligal fish weren\u2019t just wanderers from Brewster – they are a separate population that had likely been there all along, quietly surviving out of sight.<\/p>\n

This discovery has big implications for how we think about floodplains and water management. Olive perchlet are floodplain specialists, meaning they thrive after big flow events, moving into wetlands and lakes when rivers connect to the landscape. The major floods of 2022-23 likely helped reveal this population, highlighting just how important natural flooding is for supporting life beyond the main river channel.<\/p>\n

Because Toms Lake and nearby wetlands naturally dry out, there was an urgent need to protect the fish. Working closely with landholders, NSW Fisheries, the Murray Darling Basin Authority and researchers, 74 olive perchlet were carefully relocated to a secure refuge dam nearby. This site was chosen because it offers protection from drying, carp and future flood risks. It\u2019s a great example of what can happen when local knowledge, science and collaboration come together for a common goal.<\/p>\n

This story doesn\u2019t stop with fish.<\/p>\n

In 2026, students from Hay Public School will be learning about the olive perchlet as part of place\u2011based education linked to the Future Rural Leaders Program, delivered in partnership with Riverina Local Land Services through the Climate Smart Agriculture Program. Using the olive perchlet as a local case study, students will explore the connections between climate, water, farming and biodiversity – and how good land management supports both people and nature.<\/p>\n

For young people growing up on the Hay Plains, discovering that an endangered species has been quietly persisting right on their doorstep is powerful. It shows that sustainable agriculture isn\u2019t just about what we produce, but how we care for Country so it can keep supporting life into the future.<\/p>\n

Sometimes the most important stories aren\u2019t the biggest or loudest. Sometimes they\u2019re small, nearly invisible – and they remind us why paying attention really matters.<\/p>\n

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Did you know?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n