PHOTO: An earlier carp explosion in the Macquarie in March 2011 was captured by Carinda resident Cheryl Yow. IMAGE: ABC Rural
Irrigators have posted confronting footage on Twitter of mass European carp spawning events across the Murray-Darling Basin with people reporting and recording sightings of thousands of 50 to 100 millimetre carp in even small bodies of water.
“The impact of carp on habitat and water quality is one of the greatest ecological threats to native fish recovery and healthy rivers in the Basin,” said NSW Irrigator’s Council CEO, Claire Miller.
“The number of carp spawning is jaw-dropping. It looks like the water is bubbling.
“We call on the authorities to act promptly. Carp control is essential to avoid these floods leaving a lasting legacy of ecological degradation for years to come thanks to carp in plague proportions…