The necessity of fish screening in irrigation systems is well-documented in southern Australia, particularly within the Murray-Darling Basin (MDB), where extensive studies have highlighted the adverse impacts of irrigation pumps on fish communities. As a result, fish screening has become an essential component of MDB irrigation infrastructure in recent years and its roll out in other riverine systems of Australia is increasingly being requested. However, in tropical systems such as northern Queensland, similar studies are lacking. To address this knowledge gap, Australasian Fish Passage Services (AFPS) has initiated investigations into the effects of irrigation pumps on the fish communities of the lower Burdekin River Delta in north Queensland. Preliminary findings indicate that, under certain conditions, irrigation pumps in tropical systems are also drawing in significant numbers of fish species, mirroring the situation in the MDB. Ongoing studies aim to determine seasonal variations in the impact on fish communities, given the significant ecological changes between wet and dry seasons and the prevalence of fish larvae at the end of the dry season, which prepares for their movement during the wet season.