I READ with interest the article in the Sunraysia Daily of January 21 stating that scientists plan to eradicate carp in the Murray-Darling Basin by 2020, by releasing a highly contagious virus that kills 80-100 percent of infected carp and welcome any steps to reduce carp numbers which are estimated at 30 tonnes per kilometre of river.
However, I wonder if any thought has been given as to what effect this will have on the quality of water in the river and the communities that depend on it.
For example the river distance from Mildura to Red Cliffs is 26 kilometres representing 870 tonnes of dead or dying carp.
Imagine the stench of rotting carp and the effect over the entire length of the river (2375 km – 71,250 tonnes) and the problem is obvious.
While I, like everyone else, would like to see the river free of carp, I wonder if any thought has been given to these potential problems and how they may be overcome.
Perhaps “the cure may be worse than the disease”.
Ron Dudley,
Mildura.
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