RESEARCHERS and government officials were given a preview of the research being undertaken as part of the National Carp Control Plan in Canberra last week.
The NCCP is exploring ways to improve the quality of our waterways, including the possible release of the carp virus cyprinid herpesvirus-3, through a $15 million Fisheries Research and Development Corporation planning process on behalf of the federal government.
The NCCP is coordinating research to understand how the potential release of the virus to control the introduced carp species could be managed and community attitudes and opinions in relation to waterways.
At the Principal Investigator Workshop in Canberra last week, researchers were able to gain a broad overview of each of the NCCP’s research projects and identify how they can best work together.
NCCP mational coordinator Matt Barwick said getting all of the researchers together highlighted the extensive work that needed to occur before a decision was made on if the carp virus was the best option to control carp.
“The NCCP is a process, not a foregone conclusion,” he said.
“Carp are one of the most destructive introduced pest species in Australia and cause major damage to native fish populations and the water quality of our waterways.
“Different methods have been tried for decades to control carp without widespread success and that is why we find ourselves preparing the NCCP.”
World-class social scientists, biologists, economists, risk assessment specialists and water quality experts are investigating the challenges, risks, costs, opportunities and potential benefits of carp biocontrol.
Some of the major research projects include: a biomass study to provide an estimate of carp density in Australian waterways; completion of trials testing susceptibility of non-target species to the carp virus; strategies for cleaning up dead carp if the carp virus is released; and a quantitative social, economic and ecological risk assessment of carp biocontrol.
- Details: carp.gov.au
