Gambusia (Gambusia holbrooki) is an introduced fish species that is having a major impact on Australian waterways.
Gambusia Male Gambusia Female
The NSW Water Bug Survey is helping the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service to record the distribution of this feral fish species.
How can you help? When you are doing your next Water Bug Survey have a look to see if you catch any little fish with your water bugs.
Using the Gambusia Fact Sheet identify if the fish are Gambusia - make sure you don't confuse them with our native fish species.
You don't need to record the number of Gambusia you catch - just if they are present at the site.
When you upload your survey results you can also record if Gambusia were present at your site.
This information will be sent to the National Parks and Wildlife Service so they can track the distribution and location of Gambusia in NSW waterways.
It is all part of their plan to manage this introduced species.
Why are Gambusia bad?
Gambusia were introduced to Sydney in the 1920s to control mosquitos hence their common name, mosquito fish. Since then they have spread throughout the country
and are having a huge impact on our native fish and frog species.
In 1999 they were listed as a key threatening process, under the Threatened Species Conservation Act, as a result of their impact on threatened species such as the Green and Golden Bell Frog and the New England Bell Frog.
Want to know why?
