Purple spotted gudgeon habitat in dispute

“The North East Forest Alliance (NEFA) is alarmed that the Forestry Corporation will not agree to stop illegal logging of headwater stream buffers above recordings of the endangered purple spotted gudgeon, and is determined to pursue every legal avenue available to compel it to stop,” spokesperson Dailan Pugh said.

The purple spotted gudgeon is a small freshwater fish. It was listed as endangered in NSW in 2008 and since then the Forestry Corporation has been required by its fisheries licence to not log within 10m of headwater streams upstream from potential purple spotted gudgeon habitat.

“For years the Forestry Corporation claimed it didn't know where the habitat of the purple spotted gudgeon was, but in May 2016 Fisheries NSW published maps of potential habitat,” Mr Pugh said.

“Since then Forestry Corporation has had no excuse not to meet its legal obligations to account for the habitat requirements of the purple spotted gudgeon when planning its logging operations.

“Like many native fish the purple spotted gudgeon is extremely sensitive to sediment in the water, and logging operations at the very tops of catchments can send sediment all the way down the rivers.

“However the Forestry Corporation have refused to comply with the Fisheries Management Act 1994 and stop logging headwater stream buffers above where habitat of the purple spotted gudgeon has been mapped.”

A review by NEFA of current logging operations identified 43 forestry compartments, that constitute habitat for the purple spotted gudgeon under the fisheries licence, for which the Forestry Corporation stated it was intending to log buffers of headwater streams.

These compartments are scattered through the headwaters of the Clarence River, Corindi River, Pine Creek, Macleay River, Manning River, Hastings River, Camden Haven River, and Coolongolook River.

“NEFA has twice requested that the Forestry Corporation provide a written undertaking that it will not log within buffers of any drainage lines that constitute habitat for the purple spotted gudgeon,” Mr Pugh said.

“They refuse to give us any assurances.

“Protection of headwater streams is vital for the health of our rivers and their fish. Ten metre buffers are grossly inadequate when the evidence is that 30 metres should be the minimum.”

In response NSW Forestry Corporation said there are strict regulations governing timber harvesting.

“Forestry Corporation invests considerable time and effort in ensuring our operations comply with all of these regulations,” a spokesperson Forestry Corporation spokesperson said.

“We implement best practice to minimise erosion and years of research and monitoring shows that water from streams in forests is among the highest quality in the landscape.

“The purple spotted gudgeon is known on the coast only from a small area in the Richmond River catchment near Lismore and another site in the Hunter catchment with no known records in between.

“We have consistently used information provided by the Department of Primary Industries – Fisheries to comply with fisheries licence requirements, which has previously been in the form of threatened fish records. Harvesting plans prepared using that information remain valid.

“Late last year, new maps of potential threatened fish distribution were released and these are now being used in the preparation of new harvest plans for future operations.

“The purple spotted gudgeon’s habitat is in medium-sized streams, which are protected in forests by large buffer zones and our operations pose no risk to this species.”