Gladstone Fish Health Investigation 2011 - 2012 - Western Basin ...

June/July: Mullet samples were collected from all proposed sites with a total of 62 caughtand examined for signs of ill health. The species of mullet sampled at each site varied, withthe catch in Bundaberg, Fitzroy and the Boyne River being almost exclusively sea mullet. Asingle diamond scale mullet was sampled from the Fitzroy River. The mullet catch in theCalliope River and Rodds Bay was exclusively goldspot mullet.Mullet were observed with minor redness/red pin point marks on the body surface from allsites except Rodds Bay and the upper reaches of the Boyne River. This condition was mostprevalent in the Fitzroy River (six of 11 mullet sampled). The ventral pale pink areasobserved in three out of 11 mullet caught in the Calliope River were due to the captureprocess (removal from the net).A single mullet from the upper reaches of the Boyne River displayed both general rednessand lesions comprising of small areas of detached scales (see Figure 31).Figure 31. A mullet sampled from the upper reaches of the Boyne River displaying general redness andlesions comprised of small areas with detached scales.A single mullet caught in the Fitzroy River was observed to have ulcerative lesions on bothsides of its gill covering (operculum) and a cloudy eye (Figure 32).Figure 32. A mullet sampled from the Fitzroy River with ulcerative lesions on (a) the left and (b) right sideof the gill covering (operculum), exposing the gills. Note also the cloudy right eyePhase 2 summary: In total, 125 mullet were observed during Phase 2 sampling from sixsites within the study area (47 in the reference sites and 78 within Gladstone). Seven mullet(8.97%) observed from the Gladstone area showed external signs of abnormalities and theywere all caught during Trip 2. This value does not include three fish from the Calliope Riverobserved to have pale pink areas ventrally resulting from the capture process. In the52