Illegal crab pots kill platypus

Crabpot contents include decaying platypus and turtle remains
Photo Alastair Freeman

Platypus are air-breathing mammals that must come to the surface at least every five minutes. This means that they are susceptible to drowning if they are caught in a trap underwater.

Reports are being received by Wildlife Queensland of platypus found dead in crab pots in northern and central Queensland and even in the Brisbane River. A recent incident was in the North Johnstone River east of Malanda in far north Queensland where an illegally set crab pot contained 2 dead platypus and 4 dead tortoises.

What was striking about the find was the range of decomposition in the turtles, from bits of shell through to a fresh female saw-shelled turtle indicating that the trap had been drowning animals over a period of weeks. The two platypus had a similar level of decay which indicated they had probably been dead for less than two weeks (as you can see from the pictures there was still much flesh around the tails).

Platypus are fairly small creatures, measuring less than half a metre in length so they can enter an opening of a trap if it is too large. The Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries in Queensland provides information on what type of nets and traps can be used legally in freshwater systems.

All crab pots and fish traps are illegal in freshwater systems as the openings are too large and can allow platypus and tortoise to enter. Funnel traps can be used in freshwater but the opening must not be more than 10cm in diameter and the opening must be rigid so that an animal cannot push through and enlarge it.

In all cases, traps should be checked regularly. Crab pots must clearly show an identification tag with the name and address of the owner. In some rivers across Queensland, no fishing of any type is allowed.

More details are available on the DPI&F website.

It is important to familiarise yourself with the fishing regulations in your area. If you find an illegal trap in your waterways, you should immediately report it to the Fishwatch Hotline on 1800 017116. Many people are unaware that a platypus could be living in their waterway and do not consider the impacts their fishing activities can have.

Increasing community awareness of the impacts that inappropriate fishing practices can have on this unique Australian mammal will help to reduce platypus deaths.

Please also inform Wildlife Queensland of any similar occurrences so we can monitor the situation and increase publicity to help reduce the number of fatalities in the future.

More information about Platypus and Wildlife Queensland's PlatypusWatch project.

For more information on Wildlife Queensland's activities, contact us by email or call +61 7 3221 0194