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This was published 7 years ago
More than 5 tonnes of carp removed from ACT waterways during cull
By Andrew Brown
Water quality levels in the ACT are set to be improved after more than 5 tonnes of carp were removed from some of Canberra's largest ponds.
More than 2200 of the introduced species were captured during the ACT government's catch and destroy mission at the Upper Stranger and Isabella ponds in Tuggeranong.
Aquatic ecologist Mark Jekabsons weighs a nine kilogram carp that was removed from Upper Stranger Pond.Credit: Sitthixay Ditthavong
The findings of the mission, which took place in April as part of the $80 million ACT Healthy Waterways Project, were unveiled at an ACT conservation seminar this week.
Aquatic ecologist Matt Beitzel said the introduced species have been known to be a major pest in many Australian waterways.
More than 2000 carp were removed from the ponds during the cull.Credit: Georgina Connery
"They are an intrusive species and highly predatory and also eat juvenile fish and harbour diseases," he said.
"They rumble through the sediments and stir it up, meaning it never solidifies and water weeds cannot grow there."
As part of the carp cull, other introduced species such as as red fin and gold fish were also removed from the Tuggeranong waterways.
An estimated 1510 carp, or 2.59 tonnes, were removed from the Upper Stranger Pond, with 765 carp, or 2.5 tonnes, were taken out of Isabella Pond.
Carp being removed from Upper Stranger Pond.Credit: Georgina Connery
Mr Beitzel said the carp made up almost 85 per cent of all the biomass in the ecosystem.
"They're the largest animal in the system and make up a very large portion of the biomass, taking things away from the environment," he said.
Using nets was one of the ways carp were removed.Credit: Sitthixay Ditthavong
While the ponds were being drained to eliminate the carp, it also allowed for the construction of a weir to allow for nearby wetlands to be built into the environment.
Mr Beitzel said a variety of ways were used to remove the carp from the waterways, including some by hand.
"Because of the sediment in the pond, we had to come up with different methods to get them out," he said.
"One of the methods was using a small aluminium boat on a rope and pulling it across the water using manpower and hand netted each of the fish into the boat."
With the removal of the introduced species, it's hoped native fish such as murray cod and golden perch will be able to flourish.
Several thousand of the native species will be stocked in both waterways in coming months, with almost 3000 set for Upper Stranger Pond later this year, and more than 5000 for Isabella Pond once it is refilled in 2018.
"Hopefully the removal of carp, along with the building of wetlands will result in a clearer water supply and cleaner water for those ponds," Mr Beitzel said.