Carp Control Community Briefing Session Bathurst - Monday 27 November

Central Tablelands residents are invited to attend a community briefing session hosted by the National Carp Control Plan (NCCP) and Central Tablelands Local Land Services on Monday 27 November from 6.00-8.00pm.

The community briefing session will be held at Bathurst Panthers Club (on the corner of William and Piper Street, Bathurst) and will provide participants with an opportunity to hear firsthand from the NCCP and Local Land Services as well as for local residents 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 biocontrol agent, while also ensuring that risks associated with the potential use of the carp virus are identified and mitigated.

Operating through the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC) on behalf of the Australian Government, the $15 million NCCP 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 their 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 people in the Central Tablelands region and we want to understand the ecological values of affected river systems and waterways and any likely direct or indirect impacts, be they social, environmental, economic or cultural, that may eventuate,” Mr Barwick said.

Central Tablelands Local Land Services is working with the NCCP to ensure local issues are considered in the National Carp Control 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.

“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,” said Senior Land Services Officer, Casey Proctor.

This event is one of more than 40 community briefing sessions which will be held in NSW, Victoria, South Australia, the ACT, Queensland and Western Australia in coming months.

The community briefing session will cover research underpinning carp biocontrol, and summarise work underway under the NCCP and what is yet to come. Central Tablelands Local Land Services will provide an update on the issue of carp in our 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.