OFFSPRING from an Australian-first Glenelg freshwater mussel conservation program have been released into the Crawford River in southwest Victoria in a world-first restocking of the species. The Building (Glenelg Freshwater) Mussels project is a $490,000 initiative by the Australian Government’s Saving Native Species Program, delivering on-ground works around habitat, waterways and a captive breeding program at the VFA’s Snobs Creek Conservation Hatchery to reverse the decline of the species. The release today of juvenile captive-bred mussels and adult mussels collected as part of the project from the Crawford River last year, was undertaken by Budj Bim Rangers from the Winda-Mara Aboriginal Corporation, VFA and Glenelg Hopkins CMA. Glenelg freshwater mussels live for up to 10 years, including an early-life stage spent as a parasite living on the fins and gills of small-bodied native fish, enabling their movement through the river system. As filter feeders, their greatest threat to survival is sedimentation of those waterways through river-bank erosion, and fire ash deposits.