The recent ban on opera house yabbie nets in Victoria put the future of the platypus back in the spotlight. People worked hard behind the scenes to make the ban happen, some people dedicated in protecting the platypus and other water life and others were people who fish in the waterways. Melbourne Water Watch Co-ordinator Tiana Preston says "Melbourne Water is happy about the ban on the use of enclosed yabbie traps and see it as a big step to protect the platypus and other water life like turtles and native water rats (Rakali’s), because they are air breathing animals and they drown." "It was a peak recreational fishing body that represents Anglers that wanted the changes on the ban of the yabbie traps,' she says 'because there's been too many cases of people using the trap, so the ban has been positively received." For the platypus, threats such as water pollution, hair bands and disruption to water ways and birthing sites are also problematic. in her role, Tiana and platypus protection groups around Werribe and Dandenong's Monbulk Creek are working together to conduct citizen science and take water samples (e -DNA) to check if there is platypus DNA in the waterway. "That information helps the groups to manage the platypus populations by looking at how Monbulk Creek can connect to a couple of lakes in the area to increase the available habitat." Melbourne Water Watch Co-ordinator Tiana Preston "This is a management initiative which has come out of the data collected by our citizen scientists."
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