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1st January 2018
NSW Council of Freshwater Anglers report

Watch out for Tilapia.

Anglers are encouraged to be on the lookout for Tilapia, an introduced pest fish that is widespread throughout coastal Queensland and parts of northern NSW. The Murray Darling Basin and further coastal areas of NSW are at threat of Tilapia invasion. Once established in a waterway, Tilapia are almost impossible to eradicate so preventing their spread and early detection of new incursions is critical.

Tilapia survive in fresh and estuarine waters and threaten our recreational fisheries by competing with native fish for habitat and food, reducing water quality and spreading disease and parasites.

By following these easy steps, you can help stop the spread of Tilapia:
• Don’t release Tilapia back into a waterway, it’s illegal — kill the fish humanely, take a photo and either bury them or put them in a bin and report it as soon as possible.
• Don’t use Tilapia as bait (dead or alive).
• Learn how to correctly identify and report Tilapia. Tilapia have pale olive to silver-grey bodies, with a long continuous dorsal (top) fin that ends in a sharp point, and can grow to more than 36 cm.

To report Tilapia sightings, captures, illegal movement or stocking in NSW, call your local Fisheries Office, NSW DPI Aquatic Pest Hotline (02) 4916 3877 (24 hour hotline) or email [email protected].

In any case of uncertainty about identification of a fish you have caught, take a photo and call the Aquatic Pest Hotline immediately for confirmation.

Further information and Tilapia identification is at this link.

8th April 2014
Tilapia - invasive fish speciea adjusts to salinity

Fresh, salt – it’s no worries for mozambique tilapia

Researchers have found that the highly invasive Tilapia readily adjust to widely varying levels of water salinity, from fresh to salty. The fish are able to alter the proteins in the skin of their gills to adjust the amount of salt that can enter the body, allowing them to both survive and thrive in any aquatic habitat. Tilapia are a concern in northern Australia and pose a threat to the Murray-Darling Basin due to their proximity in coastal waterways.

It is feared that like Carp (Cyprinus carpio)and Eastern gambusia (Gambusia holbrooki) that they will spread though the Murray Darling basin and infect to trout, bass and other fisheries along the east coast of Australia.

For more about this research go to this link.

This study examines how fish adapt to varying levels of salinity.

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