Western Australia's only critically endangered fish has been successfully bred in captivity.
The western trout minnow was the first freshwater fish species in Australia to be listed as critically endangered with just a few thousand estimated to be remaining in a river on WA's south coast.
Scientist Craig Lawrence said the University of WA and Department of Fisheries research team worked around the clock to hatch and rear the precious minnow larvae to produce about 2000 fry.
Dr Lawrence said a captive breeding program for the freshwater fish would be developed to save the species from extinction.
The western trout minnow, which grows up to 14cm long, faces several threats in the wild including habitat reduction, obstructions to migration, introduced parasites and climate change.
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