• The FishTech Plus program will expand the adoption of fish passage technologies to address one of Southeast Asia’s major development challenges
• The Charles Sturt-led initiative will strengthen food security and livelihoods in Lao PDR, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam

Charles Sturt University will lead a $9.5 million research program to help Southeast Asia countries protect their fish populations from the threats of increasing infrastructure.

The FishTech Plus program, jointly funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), will commence in August and operate across Lao PDR, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam.

Building on the success of the previous FishTech program, the initiative will expand the adoption of fish passage technologies to address one of the region’s major development challenges.

While irrigation and hydropower infrastructure deliver significant economic and social benefits, these structures block fish migration, leading to declining fish populations for communities that depend on them for nutrition and livelihoods.

The FishTech Plus program will:

• build fishways, weirs and channels around dams to allow migratory fish to pass
• attempt a region-first weir removal program to demonstrate the benefits of removing irrigation infrastructure once it’s no longer needed
• teach the skills needed to design sustainable irrigation infrastructure, including practical on-ground demonstrations

The Australian Government’s Minister of International Development, The Hon. Dr Anne Aly, launched the program in Cambodia.

Charles Sturt University Vice-Chancellor, Professor Renée Leon, said FishTech Plus demonstrates how Charles Sturt’s research creates lasting benefits – in Australia and abroad.

“The FishTech Plus program is another example of Charles Sturt’s regionally developed research delivering practical solutions globally,” Professor Leon said.

“Entire communities in Southeast Asia depend on these rivers and fish populations for their livelihoods and, indeed, their lives.

“Our researchers and the technologies they have developed will ensure that this vital food source is secured for the future.”

The program will fund 45 international student placements at Charles Sturt, providing opportunities for Southeast Asian researchers to build expertise in environmental management within the Murray-Darling Basin.

Charles Sturt Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), Professor Neena Mitter, said those students and their communities would benefit from that opportunity.

“We’ll be connecting students with practitioners from government and industry across the Murray-Darling Basin, ensuring the excellent river management practices employed here can also be applied in the Lower Mekong region,” Professor Mitter said.

“The FishTech Plus project is further evidence that Charles Sturt addresses challenges of global significance through research grounded in regional Australia and built for real-world adoption and impact.”

The FishTech project is led by Professor Lee Baumgartner, Executive Director of Charles Sturt’s Gulbali Institute for Agriculture, Water and Environment.

Since 2020, the FishTech program has designed and constructed eight new fish passes across Cambodia and Laos, reconnecting more than 3,900 kilometres of river and more than 14,000 hectares of aquatic habitat providing basic nutrition to over 50,000 households.