Call in a carp - community plays a vital role in protecting the Glenelg River
Glenelg Hopkins Catchment Management Authority is calling for the local community and visitors to the Glenelg River to keep an eye out during the summer months and call in any carp sightings or captures.
A number of carp were removed from sites along the Glenelg River near Harrow during control work in October 2010. They were found at similar sites to previous years, in what are normally isolated pools, according to CMA Acting CEO Kevin Wood.
"Despite the capture of one male carp near Casterton, there was still no evidence to suggest that the main population has migrated further downstream following high flows in September." Glenelg Hopkins CMA will be conducting further surveys early next year as part of the annual monitoring program.
The control efforts were a follow-up from annual carp monitoring undertaken earlier in the year, he said.
The CMA provides resources to control and eradicate carp from the Glenelg River, because they pose a major threat to river and floodplain ecosystems. When they feed they burrow into the river banks and churn up the river bed, both of which make the water turbid. They damage aquatic plants and compete with native fish for food and habitat, and have a greater tolerance for poor quality water conditions (such as high temperatures and low oxygen levels).
"It is important to contain existing populations of carp to prevent them from spreading into areas of particularly high conservation value such as the Lower Glenelg National Park, which provides habitat for native fish populations of national significance," Mr Wood said.
"We can help native fish to better compete with carp by managing and restoring habitat through stock exclusion, revegetation and targeted removal of carp."
While the CMA continues to assist landowners to fence off and revegetate the banks of the Glenelg River and its tributaries to improve river health, community help is sought to record all carp sightings in Glenelg River and its tributaries.
Mr Wood said that information on the distribution and numbers of carp in the Glenelg River was valuable and could assist the CMA in identifying preferred habitats, patterns of movement and locations of breeding populations.
Carp can sometimes be confused with other introduced species such as Goldfish or Tench, but may be identified by their large, thick scales and the two pairs of barbels or whiskers at the corners of their mouth. They are usually olive-green, silvery-grey or brown with a creamy or silvery-yellow belly.
Remember, it is illegal to return carp to the water after capture. If you do catch a carp please keep it by refrigerating or freezing it. If it is not possible to keep the carp, please take a photograph, but do not throw it back.
The following details should be recorded if possible and forwarded on to the CMA:
• Date and time caught or sighted
• Location caught or sighted (GPS coordinates, fire map, Vic Map reference or description)
• Total length of fish (mm) (from tip of snout to inside ‘V' of forked tail)
• Whole weight of fish (grams)
• Sex (if known)
To report a carp capture or sighting, or for further information, please contact Glenelg Hopkins CMA's Waterways and Wetland Planner, Stephanie Wilkie on 5571 2526. Forms and an information brochure are available here.
To learn more about Carp