Forum Proceedings: Carp Management in Australia — State of Knowledge
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Forum Proceedings: Carp management in Australia — state of knowledge Melbourne, 19-20 June 2012 Edited by Wayne Fulton and Kylie Hall Forum Proceedings: Carp management in Australia — state of knowledge Melbourne, 19–20 June 2012 Edited by Wayne Fulton and Kylie Hall Hosted by the Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre and the Murray–Darling Basin Authority An Invasive Animals CRC Project Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this report reflect those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Australian Government or the Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre. The material presented in this report is based on sources that are believed to be reliable. Whilst every care has been taken in the preparation of the report, the authors give no warranty that the said sources are correct and accept no responsibility for any resultant errors contained herein, any damages or loss whatsoever caused or suffered by any individual or corporation. Published by: Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre. Postal address: University of Canberra, ACT 2600. Office Location: University of Canberra, Kirinari Street, Bruce ACT 2617. Telephone: (02) 6201 2887 Facsimile: (02) 6201 2532 Email: [email protected] Internet: http://www.invasiveanimals.com Web ISBN: 978-1-921777-79-0 © Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre 2014 This work is copyright. The Copyright Act 1968 permits fair dealing for study, research, information or educational purposes. Selected passages, tables or diagrams may be reproduced for such purposes provided acknowledgement of the source is included. Major extracts of the entire document may not be reproduced by any process. This document should be cited as: Fulton W and Hall K (eds) (2014). Forum proceedings: Carp management in Australia — state of knowledge. 19–20 June 2012, Melbourne. PestSmart Toolkit publication, Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre, Canberra, Australia. Front cover photo: Juvenile carp. Image: Inland Fisheries Service, Tasmania ii Invasive Animals CRC Contents Carp in Australia ............................................................................................... 3 Introduction to the Carp Forum ............................................................................. 5 Forum program ................................................................................................. 6 The Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre Freshwater Program – Carp .................. 8 The biology, ecology and vulnerabilities of carp ....................................................... 10 The impacts of carp: Destructive ecosystem engineer or aquatic whipping boy? ................ 18 History of management and control of carp in Australia ............................................. 20 Planning a pest fish management program ............................................................. 26 Carp management in New South Wales .................................................................. 31 Towards national emergency response arrangements for freshwater fish incursions in Australia ....................................................................................................... 35 Decision support tool for the management of freshwater fish incursions in Australia .......... 39 Application of environmental DNA detection methods in management of aquatic invasive species: Lessons learnt from an impending Asian carp invasion of the Laurentian Great Lakes, USA ................................................................................. 42 The biology, management, control and eradication of carp populations in Tasmania .......... 47 Preventative carp management during environmental watering of floodplain wetlands ....... 53 Carp Screens - better designs, better decisions. ....................................................... 58 Carp trapping: modernising an age-old technique to control an invasive pest ................... 62 Commercial carp harvesting ............................................................................... 66 The role of fishing competitions in carp management ................................................ 67 Destruction and disposal of carp captured during management: challenges and ways forward ....................................................................................................... 70 CARPSIM: Modelling the outcomes of fishing, water draw-downs, and biological carp control actions at a catchment scale ................................................................... 78 Carp from a recreational angler’s perspective ......................................................... 84 Freshwater toxins: The New Zealand experience ...................................................... 87 Can native predatory fishes control invasive carp in south-eastern Australia? ................... 94 Development and integrated use of odour-donor and sterile Judas fish for carp control. ..... 96 Environmental attractants: Isolation and identification of carp attractants from wetland plants ............................................................................................... 99 Forum Proceedings: Carp in Australia – state of knowledge 1 Carp acoustics: Attractants and repellents ............................................................ 107 Promising new developments in the containment and control of aquatic invasive species — some Asian Carp Control Strategy Framework initiatives ................................ 110 Koi herpesvirus: its potential as a biological control agent for carp in Australia. .............. 114 Daughterless technology — a recipe for eradicating carp in Australia ............................ 119 Identifying significant hotspots of carp recruitment offers opportunities for the control of carp populations ................................................................................. 124 Get out, stay out! Restoring a small New Zealand floodplain lake: removal and exclusion of carp ................................................................................................ 132 How not to mess up a carp telemetry project ......................................................... 140 Using otolith chemistry to identify carp recruitment hotspots in rivers .......................... 145 Overview of the Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre Freshwater Program pest fish research extension activities .................................................................. 151 Carp outreach, engagement and extension: Past, present and future ............................ 153 Future Work.................................................................................................. 158 Forum attendees ............................................................................................ 159 2 Invasive Animals CRC Carp in Australia Carp were first introduced to Australia more than 100 years ago. Several stains of carp, originating from both Europe and Asia can now be recognised from wild populations. Carp are now widely established throughout the Murray-Darling Basin and can also be found in all states and territories except the Northern Territory. Carp are very common in parts of this range in Australia and are considered to be one of our major pest fish species. Carp are known as a generalist species because they tolerate a wide range of conditions and habitats. However, they usually prefer slow-moving rivers or lakes with soft vegetated sediments. Their tolerance of a wide range of habitats means that they are less affected by habitat disturbance than many native species. They normally live in a preferred temperature range of around 15–32oC, but are able to survive in a wide range of temperatures, including ice-covered lakes (at about 2oC) and much warmer ponds (up to about 40oC). Carp are able to tolerate poor quality water with low oxygen levels, and water that is slightly salty. In Australia, carp are generally rare at high altitude and uncommon in clear, fast-flowing streams. Juvenile carp are usually found strongly associated with aquatic plants in marsh areas or river backwaters for the first year of their life. Carp feed by sucking soft sediment from the substrate into their mouths, where food items are separated and retained and the sediments are ejected. This habit often leads to a suspension of sediment in the water where carp are feeding. This feeding method also means that carp prefer areas with soft sediment, such as slow river pools and backwaters or lakes and ponds. This feeding habit is likely the cause of their main environmental impacts. Many of the claims regarding carp’s environmental effects are difficult to confirm because of the lack of information on waterway health before their introduction. For many waterways the decline in habitat quality took place before the presence of carp — due to activities such as catchment clearing, removal of bankside vegetation, de-snagging, stream channelisation, pesticide use and overfishing of native species. However, when a species makes up more than 80% of the biomass at some sites, as has been recorded for carp in Australia, it is difficult to believe that their environmental impact will not be significant. Image: Marc Ainsworth Image: ‘Fresh Fishing - the carp’ (www.freshfishing.co.uk) Ed note: Throughout this document the term carp, when used in a general context, refers to Cyprinus carpio L. and its various subspecies. In Australia this species is known by a variety of common names such as European carp, common