{"id":495096,"date":"2026-02-21T17:39:19","date_gmt":"2026-02-21T17:39:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/495096\/"},"modified":"2026-02-21T17:39:19","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T17:39:19","slug":"potential-release-of-carp-control-virus-into-waterways-delayed-until-2028","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/495096\/","title":{"rendered":"Potential release of carp control virus into waterways delayed until 2028"},"content":{"rendered":"

Research on a carp herpes virus is not expected to be finished for at least another two years, a decade after the virus was initially planned to be released.<\/a><\/p>\n

The virus, Cyprinid herpesvirus-3, is being explored under the National Carp Control Plan<\/a> (NCCP) as a biocontrol method for the invasive freshwater pest.<\/p>\n

The plan was introduced in 2016, with a focus on research into the potential impacts of the disease on the environment and native fish.<\/p>\n

Carp were introduced into Australian waterways in the mid-1800s and can make up as much as 90 per cent of an infested river’s organic material.<\/p>\n

\"Several<\/p>\n

Carp piling on top of each other at the edge of the water. (Landline: Bill Ormonde)<\/p>\n

Peter Teakle is a recreational fisher and became part of the National Carp Task Force that began researching if a virus could be used.<\/p>\n

“They’re nothing but mobile sludge pumps,” he said.<\/p>\n

The virus was expected to be ready for release by 2018 if it was deemed safe.<\/p>\n

However, when the plan was handed to then-federal agriculture minister Murray Watt in late 2022, it identified additional research was needed.<\/p>\n

Now, the research is not expected to be completed until 2028, when all state, territory and federal agriculture ministers will make a final decision on the virus’s release.<\/p>\n

The plan is Australia’s most expensive and largest biological control agent investigation, with 11 institutions involved and $10.4 million allocated initially, and a further $3 million allocated in 2024.<\/p>\n

\"Close<\/p>\n

Carp can grow up to 15kg and measure up to 80cm, but some have been found to exceed 1.2 metres. (ABC)<\/p>\n

Mr Teakle said he was surprised it had still not been resolved, but a virus should remain the focus of the government’s investment.<\/p>\n

“It’s still going to take millions of dollars to get this plan up and running, and it will be ongoing,” he said.<\/p>\n

“We’ve tried to go down the track of commercial harvesting, but that’s not economical.<\/p>\n

“You only need a big flood event, and carp with their reproductive capacity, we’re back to square one again.”<\/p>\n

The NCCP estimated the virus could reduce the average population of carp by 40 to 60 per cent over a 10-year period.<\/p>\n

How else can we control it?<\/p>\n

Gary Warrick from Barmera, South Australia, disagreed that the virus was the best control method.<\/p>\n

\"Garry<\/p>\n

Garry Warrick has been fishing carp in the Murray River since the 1980s. (ABC Riverland: Shannon Pearce)<\/p>\n

He is one of 41 fishers in the state with a commercial licence to catch carp.<\/p>\n

Mr Warrick worries native fish could also be killed by the virus, and dead fish in the water will damage the ecosystem.<\/p>\n

“I think they should invest more money into other ways of getting [carp] out \u2026 I think it’s too dangerous to put the virus in,” he said.<\/p>\n

“Once it goes in, it’s in there forever.<\/p>\n

\"Silver<\/p>\n

The population of carp explodes after flooding events. (ABC Riverland: Eliza Berlage)<\/p>\n

“No other country in the world has introduced this virus into the waters deliberately.”<\/p>\n

Mr Warrick said it would be beneficial to expand current control measures of trapping and electro-fishing.<\/a><\/p>\n

“In Lock One [near Blanchetown] where I trap carp, they’ve actually decreased by a fair bit,” he said.<\/p>\n

“There’s been over nearly 1,000 tonnes taken out of that area.”<\/p>\n

\"Carp<\/p>\n

Garry Warrick’s catch is supplied to several industries, including aquaculture and human consumption. (ABC South East SA: Caroline Horn)<\/p>\n

Mr Warrick said more demand for the product would be required before expanding the number of commercial fishing licences.<\/p>\n

One of his buyers is the Sydney Fish Market, which sold almost 77,000 tonnes of carp last financial year.<\/p>\n

A market spokesperson said it was generally purchased as a low-cost protein by the Asian sector, Eastern European and Middle Eastern buyers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Research on a carp herpes virus is not expected to be finished for at least another two years,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":495097,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[249576,64,63,249575,249570,249573,249572,13404,249571,44,89780,249574,118994],"class_list":["post-495096","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-are-carp-damaging-australian-rivers","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-biological-control","tag-carp","tag-garry-warrick","tag-herpes-virus","tag-murray-watt","tag-national-carp-control-plan","tag-news","tag-pest","tag-peter-teakle","tag-river-murray"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/495096","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=495096"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/495096\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/495097"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=495096"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=495096"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=495096"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}