Inland Rail helps improve fish habitat in Hughes Creek
The Hughes Creek Macquarie perch is benefitting from Inland Rail’s commitment to sustainable construction, with reused logs improving habitat quality and increasing the resilience of local fish populations.
May 26, 2026
Reused logs are being used to create improved habitat for the Macquarie perch in Hughes Creek.
Our construction partner John Holland has been working with the Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority to re-introduce large wood, or snags into the creek.
This work is considered essential for the recovery of the species, and by improving the habitat it, will increase the population’s resilience to threats such as climate change and lack of connectivity to adjoining waterways.
The Macquarie perch population in Hughes Creek is among the few remaining populations with Goulburn River ancestry. It was once abundant and widespread across Victoria and New South Wales but has declined dramatically since the 1970s, with remaining populations relatively small and isolated.
The species is currently listed nationally as Endangered (Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999) and a threatened species under the Victorian Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988.
