Bringing the Murray Crayfish Back – Nature Glenelg Trust Wins ESA Ecological Impact Award

The Ecological Society of Australia congratulates Dr Sylvia Zukowski and Dr Nick Whiterod of Nature Glenelg Trust, and Darren Willis of Murraylands and Riverland Landscape Board, as recipients of the Ecological Impact Award: Practitioner-led Initiatives, celebrating their significant contribution to restoring and protecting freshwater ecosystems and species.

Their project, focused on re-establishing populations of the Murray Crayfish in South Australia, demonstrates the power of genuine collaboration between research, government, industry and community partners.

“This project would not be possible without the excellent ongoing collaborations between Nature Glenelg Trust, Murraylands and Riverland Landscape Boards, River Murray and Mallee Aboriginal Corporation, NSW Fisheries, VIC Fisheries, PIRSA, Oz Fish and NW Aquaculture,” said Dr Zukowski.

“Everyone has played a critical role from saving Murray Crayfish during blackwater events upstream, to holding captive populations, headstarting juveniles, gaining project funding, assisting with state permitting and biosecurity processes, being involved with releases into SA, providing historical accounts, and engaging with media and community.”

The ESA’s Ecological Impact Award recognises outstanding practitioner-led initiatives that deliver measurable, positive ecological outcomes. For the Nature Glenelg Trust team, the honour reflects years of careful planning, collaboration and hands-on conservation.

“This award provides us with a heartfelt recognition of the magnitude of conservation, effort and collaborations that have been undertaken in this project,” Dr Zukowski said.

“Often in conservation work we push on with little recognition — this award provides this recognition, and we are so proud to receive it.”

Looking ahead, the team is already planning how to build on their success.

“Ideally, we would strive to run a phase two of this project with more reintroduction reaches and more reintroductions, to help ensure long-term self-sustaining populations of Murray Crayfish across a broader distribution in SA,” Dr Zukowski said.

“Not only will this award increase the outreach of this conservation project, but will provide recognition that may help secure the funding and needs required to be able to achieve this important work.”

The Nature Glenelg Trust team’s achievement highlights how practitioner-led initiatives can unite science, community and government to make tangible ecological change — a mission that sits at the heart of the ESA’s work to support Australian ecologists and their impact on the natural world.