South East NSW residents are invited to attend a community briefing session about carp control this month.
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The meeting, hosted by the National Carp Control Plan (NCCP) and South East Local Land Services will be held on Monday, December 18 from 6pm to 8pm at the Goulburn Soldiers Club.
It will provide participants an opportunity to hear first-hand from the NCCP and Local Land Services and to contribute feedback to the plan.
The NCCP is investigating ways to control carp centered on the use of a species-specific virus known as Cyprinid herpesvirus 3 (the carp virus) as a bio-control agent, and to ensure that risks associated with its potential use are identified and mitigated.
Operating through the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC) on behalf of the Australian Government, the $15 million initiative will provide detailed information to enable governments to make a well-informed decision on the best approach for carp control at the end of 2018.
NCCP National Coordinator Matt Barwick says waterways are the lifeblood of many rural and regional communities and they need to be rehabilitated.
“While these community briefing sessions are important for us to share the background, context and desired outcomes of the NCCP, they also provide an opportunity to hear from community members about how the prevalence of carp impact on them, their lifestyle or business,” Mr Barwick said.
“We want to work collaboratively with the local community - as healthy river systems and waterways result in healthier communities.
“We value the opinions and beliefs of the South East region and we want to understand the ecological values of the affected river systems and waterways and any likely direct or indirect impacts, be it social, environmental, economic or cultural, that may eventuate.”
South East Local Land Services is working with the NCCP to ensure local issues are considered in the plan.
“We encourage all members of the community to participate in this briefing session and ask any questions they may have in relation the plan,” South East Local Land Services Senior Natural Resource Manager, Annelies McGaw said
“The NCCP is a process, not a foregone conclusion so we encourage residents to share their thoughts and opinions and help shape the recommendations to government.”
This event is one of more than 40 community briefing sessions being held in NSW, Victoria, South Australia, the ACT, Queensland and Western Australia.
It will cover research underpinning carp bio-control, and summarise work underway under the NCCP and what is yet to come. South East Local Land Services will provide an update on the issue of carp in the region and a question and answer session will end the evening.
A workshop will be held prior to the community briefing session to allow representatives from key stakeholder groups to inform the NCCP about the prevalence of carp in local waterways, how the waterways are being used by the community and the benefits or impacts carp reduction may have on the community.
To find out where other community briefing sessions are being held and to be kept up to date on the NCCP please visit www.carp.gov.au.