This family of perch had not been seen in the Snowy Mountains region since the devastation of the 2020 fires, with the confirmed sighting of the species coming in May this year at Mannus Creek.

"They [Macquarie Perch] were originally widespread throughout the Murray-Darling Basin and eastern drainages, and now their populations are very fragmented," CSU's Dr Katie Doyle said.

"In the Murray catchment, this is the only population in that whole system left. There is another population just south, in the Ovens River and Buffalo River in Victoria. But those populations are not connected, they're also fragmented.

"So this is very significant, if we lose the ones we have found, we will lose that entire population for the Murray catchment."

Having received additional funding, Dr Doyle said the project will continue in order to ensure the survival of the Macquarie Perch.

"Our number one [goal] is to remove pest fish, what we have found once all the bushfire ash and sediment goes through, you get species like carp, redfin and gambusia colonising the area.

"So we are going through and targeting them to try and give the perch a fighting chance," she said.

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