Indo-Pacific Environmental has been engaged by BHP since 2016 to undertake the monitoring of aquatic fauna and habitat of ~140 km of the upper Fortescue River and its tributaries. This involves an assessment of fish, macroinvertebrate, microinvertebrate, hyporheic and emergent invertebrate faunal assemblages throughout the catchment, as well as assessment of water and habitat quality.
Data collected is used to determine whether river flow regimes present are influencing river ecology downstream of mining operations. The program employs a wide range of survey techniques tailored to efficiently survey the variety of species present in the catchment including fyke and seine netting, plankton and sweep nets, electrofishers and opera house traps.
