KHV ~ WTF ???
This is a subject I hoped I’d never have to express my opinions on… but I was wrong!
Introducing KHV into Oz waterways is madness...
Like many of my European carping brethren, I have been made aware of KHV (koi herpes virus) through the angling media, when outbreaks of the virus have been reported on, and particularly where significant fish loses have occurred. Although I knew of its existence, I never associated it with Downunder until about three years ago. When I had the privileged experience of discussing fish control (feral carp) with a so called fisheries science expert. I’m sure he has a string of degrees and other book smarts hanging out of his arse, but he knows fuck all about about fish management!
The conversation was quite cordial to begin with, until he began to brag about future plans for release of an unnamed virus into a local waterway (which anyone would naturally assume was KHV) that once held a healthy population of several native species of fish, as well as feral koi, that seemed to be coexisting quite happily with all the other inhabitants. Since then, pollution, the denuding of plant-life, rising salinity levels and falling oxygen have decimated this biomass, including most of the much hardier feral species as well. Which kind of makes any proposal for viral control pointless, and will no doubt lead to even more problems down the track… but hey, I’m no expert am I?
I was foolish to think that anyone with half a brain would stray away from this concept of carp control by viral means. But again I was proven wrong, when recently a fellow eastern states carper forwarded to me the following article: (direct link: http://tinyurl.com/7qsocr4)
Koi Herpes Virus and carp. A biological control?
Fisheries Victoria recently invited recreational fishers to a meeting with the Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre (IACRC) and CSIRO to discuss the status of Koi Herpes Virus (KHV) research in Australia. Representatives from IACRC provided a summary of the research being done to determine the potential of this virus as a control for carp in Victoria.
The Fish Diseases Laboratory at the high-security CSIRO Australian Animal Health Laboratory is examining KHV as a biological control agent by undertaking a rigorous assessment of KHV in the laboratory to make sure it does not impact Australian native species or trout.
The project is also assessing the susceptibility of Australian carp of different ages/sizes to KHV.
Modelling is required to predict how effective KHV would be in our carp population. Scientists are looking at how it would spread throughout different river systems. These preliminary studies are confined to the laboratory.
To date, a number of key research milestones have been achieved, including; methods for isolation and growth of KHV in cell culture, methods for detection and identification of KHV and demonstration that the KHV Indonesian strain is the most effective at controlling carp numbers.
The timeline for the potential release of the virus in Victoria is approximately 5 years from now subject to meeting all requirements set by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Association (APVMA) and other state and federal agencies.
Fisheries Victoria will continue to work with the IACRC to control noxious carp in Victorian waterways. For more information please visit http://www.feral.org.au
Photograph by: Veterinarian Maarten Lammens
No doubt all the carp anglers, koi enthusiasts, koi breeders and koi clubs across this great nation will be overjoyed to eventually hear about this! Most likely when its too late to do anything about it!
I would love it if some whistleblower in parliament were to publicise how much money in total has been apportioned to the carp killing crusade, over the past few decades? It would be a staggering amount! The questions I’d like answered are: has all this money thats been poured into irradiation and reseach been worth it? What, if anything has been achieved? Haven’t carp controlled their own populations naturally, and their numbers plateaued or even declined without our intervention… there sure have here in WA? And the big one: where is the proof that they do any harm at all? Ripping up river banks is utter bullshit, and is their impact on natives any worse than other introduced species, like trout and redfin, both voracious predators, yet more widely accepted. Algae blooms and pollution are clearly our fault, it has nothing to do with carp, so I won’t even go there as that argument is bollocks!
The thing is, that deliberately releasing any fish killing virus is complete madness; have things become so desperate that these government grant recipients need to show some results and justify their existence… at any cost? Can these morons guarantee one hundred percent that the virus won’t ever mutate, won’t ever cross species (there are a lot of fish with cyprinid genes) and lastly, have they looked at other countries where this has been tried and failed, only furthering the problem by creating virus resistant fish from the survivors… then what?
Maybe the time has come for the purveyors anti-carp propaganda, and advocates of carp control, to throw their hands up in the air and concede defeat… it’d sure be the cheaper option? Then perhaps allocate all their funding into more positive projects like: better stocking of our impoundments, cleaning up our waterways to make them more fishable, reducing pollution, reducing nutrient runoff into our waters, better fisheries education, more safe freshwater fishing venues being made available for kids and the disabled etc.
Like many other ex-pat carpers, the whole scene here shits me at times, yet a few diehards have persevered and still managed to locate the odd decent fish. I’ve long since given into fighting against this negative tide of misinformation about carp. Preferring to keep my gob shut, and pour what energy and time my body has left in it to follow the more positive pursuit of actually catching them. I accept Aussie opinion won’t change in my lifetime, so I may enjoy the sport as best as I can while it lasts, and before these lunatics ruin it for us any further.
No matter what scientific arguments are brought to the fore, there is no way that the deliberate introduction into the wild of an uncontrollable and highly contagious virus like KHV, can bring about any long term good for Oz fisheries!
Grim Reaper & Koi picture & thumbnail courtesy of Anglers Mail (http://tinyurl.com/6o8hnqo refers)
Happy hippo hunting 
Niblet
Ok, Im going to put my tin foil conspiracy hat on right now and get down to the jublies of it, money or the monatary system (Communisim, Social, Cap) in all its forms generates predatory behavior. By that I mean irrational negative resposnes to how we deal with each other in our economy and more importantly towards the resources on this planet. You really need to ask why their is so much angst towards the animal and its pretty simple, as a efficient scape goat for the disastourus agricultural and general human pollution problems that have been metered out on the fresh water system of this country. It would cost tens of billions of dollars to fix murray and generations worth of time, (ancient felled red gum snags act like reefs of the riverways etc) so in order for the Gubnent to redirect public angst over the decline of quality fishing and or recreational activities, people are being pointed the wrong direction.
If a serious public intrest was generated in the fishing of the old carp came about controlled stock fisheries would loose billions in turn because carp do so well (comparitively) you can fish them just about anywhere and therefore is almost impossible to regulate and police or make money off of.
Money destroys resources because profit or the saving of money by avoiding treating pollution crushes the nature around it because profit is a nothing thing you cant eat money or stick it in your gas tank, but is the end goal of all corporate enterprise Profit is derived from demand which is derived from SCARCITY.
Destroy an abundant resource and you make waaaaaaaaaaay more money, short sited I know and irrational but that is the nature of governments sleeping in the same bed as special intrest groups.
Coincidently did you know the Miximitosis virus was released to prop up the lamb industry that was failing due to over production? Being serious health concern to subsistance farmers at the time the government hoped it would pour more money into the lamb industry which was suffering demand shortfalls, of course subsistance farmers have little money and so just went hungry and the sheep industry went bust anyway.
Food for thought, thanks andy.
great fishing article, thank you
Dear Niblet
Here in NE Victoria carp have turned pristine feestone sterams into mudbaths. They have decimated the wild blackfish populations and dimished the trout populations. Incidewntally a recent survey of Vic. freshwater fishers found that 90% of monies spenyt on Feshwater fishing were targeted at Trour, yello belly and native species.
Bring on KHV and lets get the rivers and laeks back to what they once were before this obnoxious pset invaded our waterways.
So farming has nothing to do with the degradation of waterways then? I don’t think polluting rivers and streams with tonnes of rotting carp is going to help your fishing very much… do you? And please don’t forget that trout are not only an introduced species as well, but they are a far more voracious predator than carp are where fry and eggs are concerned!!!
Dear fisherman, some of the most amazing trout and black bream streams that have been in my familys rivers and creeks have now been overtaken by the filthy carp, some of the most spectacular deep great waterholes for trout are now just lined full of carp, the goverement is now talking about clean up operations after the khv virus is let go, and to be fair dinkin mate trout are not the voracious predator that you speak of they have been in our waterways longer than carp have and when it was only trout in the rivers and lakes and dams without the carp the native freshwater fish populations did not perish if anything they exploded, it was not only until the dirty carp were introduced then the native fish and trout numbers went down well common sense states then that the carp are the ones eating all the eggs and sucking up all the fry. A female carp is capable of carrying around 100,000 eggs for every 1kg of body weight. So a female of 10kg in weight will pass 1,000,000 eggs on the other hand the trout which is so “voracious” will only lay up to 1,000 eggs per kg. which one is doing more damage to our waterways their mate you be the judge?
James,
This is what happens without proper fish management… trout included. If the trout tasted like the carp we wouldn’t be arguing this point would we? So if the trout were introduced first, what natives were living in the streams before them? Please don’t try and tell me the trout didn’t eat their eggs and fingerlings. I’ve caught plenty of rainbows on some massive Rapala lures, spoon, spinners etc. I’ve yet to catch a carp on a lure or fly, so I think its fair to say that yes, trout are most definitely a voracious and cannibalistic predator… carp to a lesser degree. Carp ‘may’ present some issues in isolated areas where their biomass has been unmanaged, but I’ve not seen any proof of this with my own eyes yet!
Carp are just a convenient scapegoat for all our environmental fuckups! They are here to stay KHV or not, so why not embrace them as a sportfish as the IGFA seem to have??? http://www.igfa.org/Records/Fish-Records.aspx?LC=ATR&Fish=Carp,%20common
The interesting statement about the loss of Trout and Black Bream around James’s creeks and rivers may be due to the fact that trout and bream are far more heavily dependant on structural needs rather than habbitat conflicts.
A common practice around agricultural areas has been clearing of Large Woody Debris from rivers and surrounding lands “LWD” which cause a large degree of changes in river functions nutrient loads salinity and most imoprtantly a home for the fish.
Carp seem to care less about such needs and so prosper in the vacuum.