The discovery of a species of mainland yabby in the Central Highlands has forced the closure of a lake and threatens potential harmful impacts.
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Lake Lynch has been closed until further notice, with Inland Fisheries “hopeful” they can eradicate the pest before it gets a hold.
The yabby competes with native crayfish, some of which are endangered, potentially weakens dam walls causing them to fail and reduces water quality.
While the yabbies, called cherax destructor, are common in other parts of Tasmania it is the first time they have been found in the Central Highlands.
“If they get into an upstream location they make their way down the system like other pest fish,” Inland Fisheries director John Diggle said.
Mr Diggle said it is most likely the movement of the pest between water systems or from basin to basin is by people.
Inland Fisheries will now use a fish poison to eradicate the pest yabby.
“It’s small scale so we've got a pretty good chance of eradicating them out of [Lake Lynch],” Mr Diggle said.
“If it was in a lake like Great Lake you’d have no hope, a large water body or a river is really hard to deal with … that’s why we don’t want them moved because there’s not much we can do about them once they’re established.”
Mr Diggle said the main way people can stop the pest spreading is to refrain from moving live fish or crayfish.
“We also want anglers to report any sightings, if they see something unusual or something they haven’t seen before just to let us [Inland Fisheries] know,” he said.