Both McCoy and his counterpart at the Botanic Gardens, Ferdinand Von Mueller, were among the distinguished Victorian scientists of the day who belonged to the Acclimatisation Society of Victoria.
The Society sought to 'redress nature's imbalance' via selective introduction of various animals and plants, with rabbits, foxes and blackberries among the more notorious local examples of this misguided movement. Less known is the attempt to acclimatise a native Australian fish.
As the largest and potentially most lucrative local candidate, the Murray Cod was promptly introduced into rivers south of the Great Dividing Range. McCoy subsequently reported the species was established but 'does not thrive in the Yarra River, but through its voracity diminished the numbers of native fish in the river,' such as the 'Blackfish and Yarra Herring', particularly in the river's lower reaches.
In retrospect, it is likely that environmental degradation and pollution had more significant impact on native fish, rather than predation by Murray Cod.
