Discover the Blackfish of Girraween: A 2022 Documentary

The Final episode of our Girraween adventure focusing on the Blackfish.
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Murky Sebs Wild Underwater Adventures Episode 35
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/ murkyseb
#Blackfish #documentary #fish

[@JoleneNelson-pj5oq]

Great video Seb, I work for QPWS and worked in Girraween National Park for 25 years. Since 2006, I along with other Girraween rangers have been instrumental in removing thousands of goldfish for preservation of the river blackfish populations. I was thrilled to see your video and hear of someone with such a keen interest sharing this very informative video about this cool species. I hope this isn't the last we will see/hear of you :) Keep up the good work...

[@murkyseb]

Thank you very much. That's so great you and the other Rangers helped the Blackfish. I'm glad there are people that care about them they are such amazing creatures, one I was thrilled to have seen. I will try my best to keep making videos for as long as I can. Im really pleased to hear you liked my work :)

[@noelecheeseman4969]

This is a great documentary on one of our native species, so good to have this as a learning resource for generations to come.

[@murkyseb]

Thank you very much :)

[@lestabithasadventures]

I love blackfish, I have caught many of them in in the Otways, Smeaton area and around Hamilton here in Victoria. I have some videos on my channel catching large blackfish. My biggest is over 50cm. The biggest I have seen caught was over 80cm. They taste magnificent and are on par with redfin as one of the best freshwter fish to eat. Big blackfish eat anything they can fit in their mouths. My uncle once found a baby tiger snake in its guts and I have cleaned a large blackfish and it had small eels in its stomach.They are not fussy and very opportunistic when it comes to feeding. I would love if the Govermnment spent more time, MONEY and effort on breeding these magnificent fish instead of trout! Yes their population is some areas is very small but some very abundant. I reckon there are many sub species hence the variation in sizes. The fish in the Hamilton area are no where near as large as the Otway species.

[@gregoryhowell9797]

Great to see a blackfish again. My father used to fish for trout in Dungowan Creek (Tamworth water supply) back in the 1970s. He cursed the blackfish for taking the bait and would occasionally hook a blackfish. You'll be shocked to know I thought they tasted far superior to the trout. Sadly I'm sure the NSW state DPI are still stocking our mountain streams with muddy-tasting fatty predatory invasive trout.

[@iantibbetts6823]

Epilithic algae are good tucker. They contain small invertebrates as well as detritus.

[@NoTaboos]

Well done Seb! Your perseverance and enthusiasm paid off. (I totally agree about trout; the wild cats of the waterways.)

[@murkyseb]

Thank you very much. I'm hoping one day they least stop releasing more trout into the rivers and at best actually remove them

[@iantibbetts6823]

Nice one Seb!!!! Well done.

[@murkyseb]

Thanks very much :)

[@broman6662]

So many different types of nature in Australia, you guys really have it all! Great video!!!

[@murkyseb]

Thanks very much :)

[@jayelobegeiger9761]

Hey Seb. This is a fantastic video. You got great footage of these cryptic little fish, and it's so important to highlight their plight. I work for the Department of Environment and Science in Queensland, and we're very concerned about the Blackfish and the pressures they face. I've been working on an environmental DNA monitoring project, where we're trying to determine how many populations are left after the drought and fires the rangers told you about. We've collected lots of eDNA samples around Girraween and in the upper Condamine, and they have confirmed that the Blackfish's distribution is limited and declining. If you're keen, I'd be really interested to chat about whether your sightings are new records. I'll send a message via Facebook and see what you think.

[@murkyseb]

Thank you very much :) they are amazing creatures! I look forward to hearing from you

[@sarahcheeseman4457]

Fantastic insight and fabulous footage Seb, so impressed. Thank you for educating us! Love your work.

[@murkyseb]

Thank you, I'm glad to hear that :)

[@brankosavage6377]

Great vid and great story telling. Great to see you are following your passion.

[@murkyseb]

Thank you very much :) I’m glad to hear you enjoyed it this one was a challenge to make

[@kr0nic666]

Heck yea dude ! Great find ❤ love all your work keep it up

[@murkyseb]

Thank you very much :) I’m really pleased to hear you’re enjoying my videos!

[@zackywacky2657]

another great vid, ive looked for the blackfish myself before down here in vic but with no luck

[@murkyseb]

Thank you, they are becoming harder and harder to find everywhere

[@troyandskyelar9588]

Remove trout, stock blackfish. Market them as the native trout alternative :) Although I don’t think they’ve successfully captive bred blackfish?

[@murkyseb]

If only we had someone in the government capable of doing that. I don't know if they have been captive bred, the best thing to do is to preserve their habitats

[@troyandskyelar9588]

Yep, luckily both QLD populations occur in protected areas. There are rainbow trout in one of the populations though. At least there used to be. Hopefully they’ve died out (the trout).

[@adan5347]

ρ尺ｏΜ𝐎ᔕᗰ 👀