State Environment Minister David Speirs says he doesn’t believe there is any intention to pursue the plan of releasing the Koi Herpesvirus to control carp numbers in the River Murray “in the short term or even the medium term”.

He told ABC Radio Adelaide last week that the plan had not been raised with him during his (almost) three-year stint as Minister.

“That project’s gone deadly quiet,” he said. “But it would be interesting to explore that with the Federal Government.”

Associate Professor in Aquatic Animal Health with the University of Sydney, Dr Joy Becker says the National Carp Control Plan went to the Federal Department of Agriculture in January 2020 but no decision has yet been made about releasing the virus. 

She said that the COVID-19 pandemic may have delayed any decision.

Councils along the River Murray have previously called on the government to ensure that any virus release plan would properly fund the clean-up of dead carp.

In 2018 it was estimated that there was 205,744 tonnes of carp in Australia’s waterways, causing significant environmental damage. They were first introduced by European settlers in the 1850s.

Previous attempts to control or remove carp have included electrocution, explosives and traps.

It is illegal in South Australia to return any carp caught back into the River Murray.  

The National Carp Control Plan can be viewed online at https://www.carp.gov.au/