{{+1}}Will this be the end of invasive carp?{{-1}}
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"AUSTRALIA’S waterways could be rid of carp by next year as moves to import a virus targeting the pest gain ground.
Scientists at CSIRO have wrapped up almost a decade of testing to prove the bug kills only the so-called “rabbit of the river” clogging the Murray Darling Basin, The Weekly Times reports.
Applications to introduce the virus in Australia are now being submitted while an unlikely alliance between industry and environmental groups, including the National Irrigators Council and Australian Conservation Foundation, support the measure.
“This single initiative could be as important as myxomatosis was to halting the rabbit plagues,” NIC chief executive Tom Chesson said.
“The environmental outcomes from this one action could be greater than those we’ve seen from the (Murray Darling) Basin Plan.
“This could see clear water in parts of the system where it’s never been seen before.”
Environmental watering under the basin plan is widely considered to have allowed the carp population to boom, forcing more than half of the native fish species to the brink of extinction.
Despite the efforts of carp eradication programs, the pest makes up 80-90 per cent of fish in the Murray Darling network — up from 58 per cent in 2011, according to Federal Government advice from the Threatened Species Council.
Carp suck mud from the bottom of rivers to feed then spit the sediment out — leading to muddy waterways, smothering plants and native fish eggs.
They also carry a parasite that infects native fish species and contributes to their demise.
“They absolutely dominate our natural waterways,” NSW Department of Primary Industries senior fisheries manager Matt Barwick said.
But the introduction of a carp-specific virus to Australia is finally within reach.
The virus — known colloquially as “carp herpes” — occurs naturally in 32 countries, with outbreaks in Japan in 2003 killing 70 per cent of the carp population in weeks.
Eight years of testing by CSIRO’s Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre, led by Dr Ken McColl, has confirmed its effectiveness on carp in Australia and that it will not harm other plant or animal species.
Mr Barwick estimated it would take up to 15 months for the virus’s importation, with approval needed under four separate Federal Government acts.
Applications under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, and to the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority will be submitted within weeks.
Applications under the Quarantine Act and Biological Control Act are under consideration.
If approved, it would be up to each state and territory to decide if and where they want to release the virus.
However, given public opinion ranks the fish among the top five pests in Australia and that it populates all of Australia except the Northern Territory, Mr Barwick is confident all jurisdictions will see the virus’s value."
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Last Updated: January 30, 2016
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