Fear of tilapia invasion

DANIEL BATEMAN Paul Aubin said he was concerned the noxious freshwater fish, which are known to tolerate a wide range of water salinity, were close to the ocean.

“Hawaii had a scare where tilapia had actually colonised coral reefs about a decade ago,” he said.

“It’s a concern that they could starve out other species.”

A Biosecurity Queensland spokesman said range extensions to river systems where tilapia had previously not occurred would happen after establishment in a catchment.

“Tilapia (above) is a highly invasive species that poses a threat to commercial and recreational fisheries if large populations become established,” he said.

“Biosecurity Queensland works with local councils, landholders, indigenous communities, environmental groups, peak fishing industry bodies and commercial and recreational fishers to educate on stopping the spread of tilapia.”

Tilapia, which originated in Africa and the Middle East, can impact on native fish and plant species when competing for habitat and food, behaving aggressively and disturbing plant beds when building nests.

They also cause loss of popular fishing locations by outcompeting and destroying native fish habitats.

The department’s spokesman said although a variety of methods had been tried, there was currently no single, effective broad-scale method of controlling tilapia.

“Most control methods only remove a part of the population with each attempt and tilapia’s very high reproductive rate means targeted areas are quickly repopulated,” he said.

“Fishing using legal recreational fishing methods is the only option available to the public.” Sightings of tilapia can be reported by calling 13 25 25