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Carp eradication plan must be made public immediately: Centofanti

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The Hon. Nicola Centofanti, Shadow Minister for Water Resources and the River Murray (SA), Media Release, 7 October 2022

The long-awaited National Carp Control Plan has now been handed to the federal Agriculture Department, but there is no news on when it will be made public. The South Australian Liberal Party is calling on the Labor Government to publicly release the plan immediately.

Carp is one of the most invasive species in the River Murray – contributing to widespread degradation of the river environments and poor water quality.

The species’ eradication is the subject of the National Carp Control Plan which has been developed by the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation to assess the feasibility of using a carp herpes virus as a method for controlling the pest species.

The Plan will determine whether or not the virus should be released into Australian waterways.

“The implications of the Plan are significant, and it will need to be carefully considered by all Murray Darling Basin jurisdictions and the Australian Government,” Shadow Minister for Water Resources and the River Murray, Nicola Centofanti said.

“This will take time, and it’s therefore essential that the Plan is made public immediately – especially if action is required during times of high river like we are experiencing now.

“We seek a commitment from the South Australian and Australian Labor parties that they will put politics aside and support this call to action.

“The South Australian community deserves transparency and has the right to see the Plan. Whatever decision is made on the release of the virus, it needs to be well-considered and supported. The immediate release of the Plan is the first step in this process”.

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