2 headed bass at noosa

[Hairy_Harold]

Found this on the internet concerning bass larvae in the noosa river, was on a news update on ch 9 aswell. Sorry if this has already been posted.

http://www.thedaily.com.au/news/2009/jan/12/two-headed-fish-found-noosa-boreen-point/

[flairj]

Check the videos forum..........

[sicman345]

did and one see in the news that there are 2headed bass in brizzie


what dose everyone think about this??

[Blackened]

G'day

It's actually on the noosa river, in the bass larvae, due to chemicals used in macadamia farms.

Dave

[snagking]

Yeah, I think it's pretty wrong and gross.

[finding_time]

Obviously a Tasmanian Bass on holidays!!!;)


Ian


Ps I didn't think there were any Bass in tassie but i must have been mistaken:-/ ;D I'm sure Ausfishes two headed expert ,Blaze will let us know;) :D

[tailorboi99]

Ughh more mutated fish. You'd need 2 hooks to catch one heheh. Also this needs to stop maybe the government will put something into order

Tom

[groverwa]

Have a look at http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/01/12/2463806.htm?section=justin

Mike

[Aussie123]

Here's a good video clip that explains it well.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=UXAb0nzKDeI (http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=UXAb0nzKDeI)

[aussiebasser]

The press can stretch things a little. There's more here:
http://www.sweetwaterfishing.com.au/Forum/index.php/topic,2890.0.html

[bugman]

Ian,

I resemble that accusation !!!!!!

Brett

[Crisp Bee]

it cannot be good for the noosa waterways. What else in the food chain is being disrupted from breeding efficiently? What long term effects could there be on the higher end of the food chain....
The youtube video from Aussie123 states the Americans have banned the chemicals being used by Maccadamia farmers in 2001. Why is Australia so bloody slow to act?

[Aussie123]

It appears that now this has gone public the DPI are getting involved so there's definately a lot of fact behind this.
Shame they did not jump this quick 20 odd years ago with the cotton farmers.

[aussiebasser]

Found this on the internet concerning bass larvae in the noosa river, was on a news update on ch 9 aswell. Sorry if this has already been posted.

http://www.thedaily.com.au/news/2009/jan/12/two-headed-fish-found-noosa-boreen-point/


Just need to clarify one thing. The Bass lavae are NOT in the Noosa River. They were in the fish hatchery next to Ring Tail State Forest. The hatchery adjoins Cooloothin Creek which runs into Lake Cootharaba. There have been no deformed Bass found in the Noosa River.
As a result of this problem all fish stocking has been suspended into waters controlled by Queesland Bulk Water Authority trading as Seqwater. These waters are those that were formerly controlled by these authorities:

Aquagen
Beaudesert Shire Council
Brisbane City Council
Caboolture Shire Council
Caloundra City Council
Esk Shire Council
Gold Coast City Council
Kilcoy Shire Council
Maroochy Shire Council
Noosa Shire Council
Redland City Council
Pine Rivers Shire Council
SEQWater
SunWaterThis pretty much covers every dam in South East Queensland.

Lets hope the issue is resolved quickly

[Leigh77]

Just need to clarify one thing. The Bass lavae are NOT in the Noosa River. They were in the fish hatchery next to Ring Tail State Forest. The hatchery adjoins Cooloothin Creek which runs into Lake Cootharaba. There have been no deformed Bass found in the Noosa River.
As a result of this problem all fish stocking has been suspended into waters controlled by Queesland Bulk Water Authority trading as Seqwater. These waters are those that were formerly controlled by these authorities:
Aquagen
Beaudesert Shire Council
Brisbane City Council
Caboolture Shire Council
Caloundra City Council
Esk Shire Council
Gold Coast City Council
Kilcoy Shire Council
Maroochy Shire Council
Noosa Shire Council
Redland City Council
Pine Rivers Shire Council
SEQWater
SunWaterThis pretty much covers every dam in South East Queensland.

Lets hope the issue is resolved quickly

But the Noosa River is where the 2nd lot of brood stock come from!

Here's what the channel 7 news had to say...they have turned it into a real "human" health issue, with a possible cancer cluster in the area. This can only help push the investigation along quicker.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwF54RdqGN8

Leigh

[aussiebasser]

No, the deformed larvae came from Noosa River brood stock. The healthy larvae came from Ewen Maddock brood stock, unless someone has been told another version. The other change as far as I can ascertain is the water was changed between the first deformed breeding and the last good breeding. There are questions to be answered, which is what the EPA, DPI & F and Seqwater are currently working on.

[mossyback08]

although none of the deformed fish came from the noosa river breeding bass, whos to say there isnt deformed bass in the creek due to chemical run off from the macadamia farm.

[Luc]

From previous articles/videos, the first breeding using bass held in the hatchery ponds produced deformed larvae which did not survive.

The breeder then got permission to use wild stock from the Noosa itself and breeding them produced the same results.

The next attempt using bood stock from another river system was succesfull with all viable larvae produced.

If as a result of chemicals, the larvae from noosa river bass do not survive past 48 hours from hatching, it stands to reason that deformed bass would NOT be found in the Noosa as all the larvae would die.

Luc

[Pretzil]

Evolution?
How do we know that its unnatural? I wonder if all the other fish started freaking out when some of the other fish grew legs and started walking onto land millions of years ago, maybe this is the start of the X-Fish, maybe one of them will be psychic, or lazer eyes, why does everyone always assume the worst :P

As for them dying, hasnt anyone ever heard of trial and error

[Leigh77]

No, the deformed larvae came from Noosa River brood stock. The healthy larvae came from Ewen Maddock brood stock, unless someone has been told another version. The other change as far as I can ascertain is the water was changed between the first deformed breeding and the last good breeding. There are questions to be answered, which is what the EPA, DPI & F and Seqwater are currently working on.

Thats exactly what I said! But for some reason you disagreed with me.

Luc has it spot on!

Leigh.

[aussiebasser]

Luc is correct. The only other variable we don't know is when the water was changed at the hatchery. If the unsuccessful breeding and the successful breeding took place in different water, that may indicate that the water at the hatchery was a problem, and not the Noosa River brood stock. That is what needs to be investigated. The Nut Farm is beside the hatchery, not beside the Noosa River. The video shows spray going into the hatchery property, not the Noosa River. The issue between the hatchery and the nut farm is one thing (Gwen's footage of the problem is substantial evidence there), the issue of a possibly polluted river producing deformed bass which are dying out is the one that EPA and DPI & F should now be investigating.
If this is a case of widespread pollution which is impacting of native fish stocks we should all be up in arms. If this is a case of one business (Nut Farm) impacting on another business (Commercial Fish Hatchery) then it will be sorted out in the courts. As concerned anglers and members of stocking groups all we can do is wait for the final outcome.

[Leigh77]

The overspray/run off flows into Lake Cootharaba. Why else do you think the second batch of brood stock was contaminated?!?!?!?

Leigh.

[aussiebasser]

The overspray/run off flows into Lake Cootharaba. Why else do you think the second batch of brood stock was contaminated?!?!?!?

Leigh.

Hi Leigh, you know we're both on the same side, you help stock Clear Island Waters and I help stock Somerset and Wivenhoe. I still haven't seen any proof that the brood stock were contaminated in the Noosa River. The contamination could have occurred in the water at the hatchery. Hopefully in the near future the EPA will either test the water both in the river and in the hatchery, or catch some Noosa River Bass and test them. To a simpleton like me it seems easy.

[Luc]

It would be great to be able to get an independent scientist to do the checking, not a government department or a goverment funded project.

My current trust level of the EPA, DPI&F and similar is virtually non existant.

Some of the reported statements from politicians about this situation are beyond belief!!

Luc

[Leigh77]

Aussie...I know we are on the same team here. But the second lot of Noosa Bass (AFAIK) did not go into the "contaminated" ponds, so the fish were already "altered" before Gwen got them.

But after getting some more info from Gwen, we may need a few more team-members...Have a read of this.

Where was the contaminated water dumped- Sunland Hatchery was told by DPI, who was told by the EPA, to dump it in the creek! She did not do this and any contaminated water is still in her ponds on site which she does not use. Every bit of water comes from Ringtail (another property) 15 Klm from fresh water.

The DPI have been through the Hatchery in question with a fine tooth comb and she has a certificate to say everything in and on her property which she uses for breeding is clean. Gwen also has a certificate for her fingerlings, which now have a clean bill of health, to be shown on request.

The Brood stock in question were kept for 4 months and were offered to the DPI to come and get numerous times and they did not want them. After 4 months in a tank being hand fed they were destroyed.

Somerset/Wivenhoes' batch of Fingerlings are now "DEAD". Gwen today dug a hole with her backhoe and buried the lot of them. Three times a night they were carting in fresh water to the shed to keep them healthy but Gwen had to let them go.

DPI and SEQ water new she had a certificate and where she had caught them (ewen Mattock) and they were clean, but that's life.

The last sentence is in regards to SEQ water postponing all stocking.

With that sort of advice from the DPI, we are in for a tough battle to get the truth on this one. With the DPI not wanting the brood stock, it would appear that they never intended to do sufficant tests to find out the answers.

My guess is the DPI already know the Noosa River water is contaminated, but fear the backlash when it comes out. Hopefully time will tell.

Leigh.

[aussiebasser]

Thanks Leigh, I had read Tony's post on another site. Unfortunately there were a set of circumstances here that put Seqwater on the spot and they had to make a quick decision. After Ben Diggles appeared on Nugget's program, the main stream media took a big interest in this situation, which was the obvious intention. They all arrived at the hatchery to film and interview. It appeared in main stream media on Monday shortly before SWFSA contacted Seqwater asking for permission to release 35000 fingerlings from the same hatchery on Tuesday. They had heard the news and were obviously nervous. They advised SWFSA shortly afterwards that they were putting a temporary block on stocking until all the facts were known. SWFSA advised the hatchery of this. The hatchery then contacted your group, who had an order for 10000 fingerlings, asking if you could take them. Your group made the decision to accept them and release them in Clear Island Waters yesterday and as that waterway is not controlled by Seqwater you did not need to have their permission. That the hatchery chose to dispose of the 25000 remaining fish is unfortunate, but it was a business decision. Now, we have no bass fingerlings starving to death at the moment so we can safely wait for government and private scientists and biologists to fully investigate the cause of the deformed larvae without the hype from the media about the Noosa River being full of two headed Bass. Let's hope none of the Clear Island Waters fish start sprouting additional appendages, as it'll all start again.

[aussiebasser]

SWFSA received an email this afternoon from Queensland Bulk Water Authority, trading as Seqwater advising that we can resume normal stocking procedures.

Dale Sinclair
Vice President
Somerset adn Wivenhoe Fish Stocking Association Inc.