Consider wider impacts of virus

AGRICULTURE Minister Murray Watt says agencies needed to consider the wider impacts of introducing a virus.

“It seemed to me that the recommendations were that you could consider using it in a more targeted manner, rather than just going and plonking it into every river system right around the country,” he told the ABC. “But there’s still some more work to be done here.

“We’ve got to get the National Biosecurity Committee, which includes the most senior biosecurity people from the federal and state governments, to have a good look at this now as well.

“But I think it is a really solid piece of work based on really good evidence, so I think it’s a really helpful contribution to what’s been a very challenging issue for a long time.

“What it seemed to me from this report is that it did seem to have some evidence that using this virus would be effective if all we were thinking about is focusing on reducing carp numbers, but, of course, we’ve always got to think about the wider impacts of introducing these sorts of species as well, so it might be that there’s more research needed into that before we go following it holus bolus.”

Pest of the waterways

CARP have become the most dominant large-bodied fish in the Murray-Darling Basin making up to 80-90 per cent of fish biomass.

Carp have major negative impacts on water quality and the amenity value of our freshwater environments.

Carp also have a devastating impact on biodiversity and have decimated native fish populations in many areas since they first became established as a major pest in the wild in the 1960s.

Unfortunately, carp can now be found in almost all states and territories.

They were introduced to Australia more than 100 years ago.

Read other carp virus articles

Delaying release of virus

Consider wider impacts of virus

Carp control part of fresh approach

‘Get on with it’